Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
Public Reporting
On March 27, 2020, the federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES Act includes a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (“HEERF”). A portion of HEERF funds must go directly to eligible students in the form of emergency financial aid grants for expenses related to the disruption of seminary operations due to the COVID-19 crisis.
The following information is provided by Sacred Heart Major Seminary (the “Seminary”) as required by the Department of Education in order to comply with the reporting requirement under the CARES Act.
- Certification and Agreement
On July 29, 2020, the Seminary signed and returned a Certification and Agreement Form to the United States Department of Education, in application for a HEERF Grant. The grant will be used to provide emergency financial aid grants to students and to cover institutional costs associated with the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. The Seminary intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds allocated under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. The seminary also received a $425,807 grant under Section 18004 (a) (3) of the CARES Act from the Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Education (FIPSE) to provide emergency financial assistant to students, upgrade wireless networks improving student access, and replace lost revenue from academic sources.
- Amount the Seminary Received Under HEERF
The Seminary received a $74,195 HEERF Grant in October 2020 and a $425,807 FIPSE Grant in June 2022.
- Amounts Distributed to Date
As of the date of this submission, the Seminary has distributed or expended $74,195 in HEERF Grants and distributed or expended the $425,807 FIPSE Grant.
- Estimated Number of Eligible Students
As of the Fall 2020 term, the Seminary estimated 120 students would be eligible for HEERF Student Share Grant Funds. This represented approximately 30 percent of the Seminary’s total fall enrollment of 401 students.
- Number of Students Who Have Received HEERF Student Share Grants
As of the date of this submission, 85 students have received HEERF Student Share Grants ($42,500) and 86 students have received FIPSE Grants ($86,000).
- Method of Determining Which Students Will Receive HEERF Student Share Grant
The Seminary emailed an application form for HEERF emergency financial aid grants to students in November 2020. The Financial Aid Office also identified students who were eligible to receive HEERF emergency financial aid grants, but had not applied. HEERF Student Share Grants will range from $500 to $1,000, dependent on supplemental resources needed due to the temporary hardship related to COVID-19.
- Instructions Directions, and Guidance Regarding HEERF Student Share Grants
The emergency student grants will be paid directly to students to cover eligible expenses, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses, related to the disruption of seminary operations due to the coronavirus. The following application form was used in the awarding process: https://aod.box.com/s/s4w10gdozek0wnkpwczhko5huab7bc6b.
Quarterly Report of Expenditures for 12/31/2020
Quarterly HEERF Report for 3/31/2021
Quarterly HEERF Report for 6/30/2021
Quarterly HEERF Report for 9/30/2021
Quarterly HEERF Report for 12/31/2021
Quarterly HEERF Report for 3/30/2022