Utilization of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF): Final Quarterly Posting

  1. An acknowledgement that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Secion 19=8004 (a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.

    Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) signed and returned the federal Funding Certification and Agreement Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students Under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) on April 14, 2020. Submission of this document indicates IUP's commitment to use no less than fifty percent of the funds received through the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.

  2. The total dollar amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution's Certification and Agreement for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.

    IUP received a total of $5,025,231 from USDE for the sole purpose of providing our students with emergency grants to assist with eligible expenses, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and childcare related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19.

  3. The total dollar amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004 (a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30 day Report and every 45 days thereafter).

    As of March 31, 2021, IUP has distributed a total of $5,025,231 to eligible students. This exhausts IUP's Emergency Financial Aid Grant Funding under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

  4. The estimated number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004 (a)(1) of the CARES Act.

    As of May 13, 2020, IUP has determined that there are 6,947 students, both undergraduate and graduate level, eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

  5. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

    As of March 31, 2021, 5,320 IUP students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

  6. The method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

    The university CARES Act Committee, comprised of representatives from Student Affairs, Institutional Research, University Advancement, Financial Aid, Bursar's Office and IT Services, created an initial distribution plan to provide assistance to students who were enrolled in at least one face-to-face class for the Spring 2020 semester, filed a 2019-20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and met all federal financial aid eligibility requirements under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

    Review of this pool of potentially eligible CARES recipients revealed that approximately 1,900 students, who resided on campus during the spring 2020 term, received a university funded reduction to their room charges totaling over $5.7 million dollars. Therefore, the committee determined a need to provide federal financial assistance to those students who did not reside on campus.

    • Commuter students received an Emergency Grant of $400, approximately 25% of the personal' financial aid budget component included in the students' annual cost of attendance. This grant is intended to assist students in coping with unexpected costs due to increased technology demands associated with online enrollment.
    • Off-campus students received an Emergency Grant of $800, approximately 50% of the personal' financial aid budget component included in the students' annual cost of attendance. This grant is intended to assist students in coping with both unexpected costs due to increased technology demands associated with online enrollment and costs associated with the unexpected need to relocate during the semester.

    The IUP CARES ACT Committee also determined that, following the university's announcement that, due to COVID-19, all spring instruction would be converted to an online modality, a significant number of students withdrew from one or more classes during the spring semester. For this reason, students who continued their enrollment at the university, but withdrew from one or more classes after March 13, 2020, received an Emergency Grant equal to the value of tuition for one three credit class. It is important to note that this grant is not intended, nor is it permitted to cover tuition or fees for current or future enrollment. The university simply recognized that students incurred a charge for instruction and then found themselves unable to complete a course shortly after the change in modality was implemented.

    • Undergraduate, Pennsylvania Residents received $957
    • Undergraduate, Out-of-State Residents received $1,389
    • Graduate, Pennsylvania Residents received $1,548
    • Graduate, Out-of-State Residents received $0---no eligible students were identified

    Students enrolled in the Act 120 Municipal Police Academy program were another population identified by the IUP CARES Act Committee for receipt of Emergency Grant funding. This clock-hour certification program suspended in-person instruction on March 14 th and, due to the program's state accrediting body, MPOETC, were unable to offer online instruction until May 11th. Students are assessed their program fee at the start of the program. When they were forced to withdraw from their classes, they entered an eight week hiatus' period during which they were fully responsible for their own housing and food costs through no choice of their own. Students who re-enrolled for online courses in May received $3,300, which represents eight additional weeks of room and board budget allowances from their annual program cost of attendance.

    Students enrolled in the Culinary or Baking certificate programs experienced a significant disruption in their kitchen laboratory instruction. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students' in-person laboratory classes were suspended on March 15. While every effort was made to substitute online didactic coursework, which lent itself more readily to using an online modality, students were not permitted to return to campus to complete their lab courses until the fall 2020 semester. Students who re-enrolled in the fall were awarded a $2,000 CARES grant to assist them offsetting the costs of returning to campus for an additional period of time, during which they will complete their missing kitchen laboratory hours.

    As of May 13, 2020, $855,269 in Emergency Grant funding was allocated to support students who experienced emergent financial needs. IUP students applied for these funds via the Emergency Response Fund application, found online.

    IUP continued to review students' needs and awarded Emergency Financial Grants until the CARES Act funds were exhausted as of March 31, 2021. A total of $812,926 in individual grants were disbursed to students through the Emergency Grant application process. Remaining funds were applied to directly to students' university accounts, without the need for individual applications, according to HEERF II guidelines.

  7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.

    Students were provided the following guidance from Tom Segar, Vice-President for Student Affairs.

The IUP Bursar sent the following email notifications to the CARES Emergency Financial Aid Grant recipients.

Students Receiving a Paper Check

Dear ____:

You received a federal Financial Aid Emergency Grant under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES ACT) program.  NOTE:  Schools are required to make these emergency funds available directly to students, even if a balance is owed to the university. 

IUP credited your account with a refund in the amount of $____. To view your recent account activity, please review your IUP student account at https://my.iup.edu/ , just click on the Finance tab, and then select IUP EasyPay. Checks will be mailed to your current student address, as listed in your MYIUP, within 3 business days.

Please note: If you do not cash your refund check prior to its 180 day expiration date, you may lose eligibility for this Emergency Financial Aid Grant due to the need to return unclaimed federal funds to the appropriate federal agency. IUP may NOT be able to re-award these funds to you, after they are returned to the aid program.

Thank you,

The Bursar Office

Students Receiving a Direct Deposit

Dear :

You received a Financial Aid Emergency Grant under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES ACT) program.  NOTE:  Schools are required to make these emergency funds available directly to students, even if a balance is owed to the university. 

IUP credited your account with a refund in the amount of $___. To view your recent account activity, please review your IUP student account at https://my.iup.edu/ ,just click on the Finance tab, and then select IUP EasyPay.

In accordance with your request for direct deposit, IUP will be crediting your account with a refund in the amount of $___.

This process takes 3 business days for the money to be transferred. Please check your account before withdrawing any funds to make sure the deposit has been processed by your bank and to view the amount deposited.

Thank you,

The Bursar Office

CARES Act Institutional Portion

In addition to the federal dollars offered as emergency funds to students who have experienced unexpected educational expenses, the CARES Act also provided institutions funds to cover any costs associated with significant changes to the delivery of instruction (including interruptions in instruction) due to the coronavirus, for emergency financial aid grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus, and to defray costs incurred including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, technology costs associated with a transition to distance education, faculty and staff trainings, and payroll. The following Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting under CARES Act Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, 18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3), if applicable, provide information on the amounts of CARES Act funds expended.