HEERF Grant Quarterly Report Ending December 31, 2020
Student Portion
December 31, 2020
- Western Washington University (hereafter referred to as “Western”) signed and returned the “Recipient's Funding Certification and Agreement for Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act” to the U.S. Department of Education on April 21, 2020. Western intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (referred to as Federal CARES grants on Western's campus) to qualified students.
- The total dollar amount Western will receive for Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (Federal CARES grants) from the U.S. Department of Education pursuant to the institution's Certification Agreement referenced above is $5,820,847. Funds were transmitted to Western on April 28, 2020.
- As of December 31, 2020, the total amount of Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (Federal CARES grants) distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is $5,759,695.
- The estimated total number of Western students eligible to potentially receive Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (Federal Cares grants) under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 9,370.
- As of December 31, 2020, the total number of students who received a Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 3,955.
- Methods used by Western to determine which students receive Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (CARES grants) and how much they receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act are two-fold. One method consists of an application students can complete and submit to the Financial Aid Department (hereafter referred to as “Financial Aid”), which was posted to the Financial Aid website on May 1, 2020. The other consists of collaborations between Financial Aid and other areas on campus to identify students who incurred expenses due to disruption of campus operations from coronavirus. These areas include but are not limited to University Residences, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Office of Student Life, Student Disability Access Center, Graduate School, Veterans Services, Academic Technology and User Services, LGBTQ Resources, Western Success Scholars Program and Western's Associated Students Child Development Center.
- Instructions, directions and guidance provided by Western's Financial Aid Department were included on the Financial Aid website via the Federal CARES grant application and accompanying FAQs. In addition, in early May 2020, the Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grant (Federal CARES grant) information was sent to students and families via the Family Connection Newsletter and included in Western Today. Melynda Huskey, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services, informed all active Western students of the opportunity to apply for Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (Federal Cares grants) via an electronic announcement dated May 1, 2020. Upon learning that U.S. citizens could be considered for Federal Emergency Financial Aid Grants (Federal Cares grants) even when not eligible for Federal Title IV funds, the Financial Aid Department updated the relevant Federal CARES grant FAQs on the Financial Aid website on May 26, 2020 and sent a follow-up announcement to all active Western students to inform them of this update.
On October 14, 2020, the Financial Aid website was updated to announce that the Federal CARES grant application would be re-opened for Fall Quarter 2020, from October 15 through October 26, 2020. In addition, to request help with outreach to qualified students, Academic Deans and Deans’ Assistants were informed via e-mail that the Federal CARES grant application would be opened as specified on Oct. 13, 2020, by Associate VP ESS Shelli Soto; all Enrollment and Student Services personnel were informed of same by Financial Aid on Oct. 14, 2020. In accordance with guidance received from the U.S. Department of Education on June 17, 2020, which indicated that only Title IV-eligible students should receive Federal CARES funding, Financial Aid sent all enrolled Western students who filed a 2020-21 FAFSA an e-mail on October 15, 2020, announcing that the Federal CARES grant application would be open on Western’s Financial Aid website from 8 a.m. on October 15 through 11:59 p.m. on October 26, 2020, for consideration for Fall 2020 Federal CARES grant funds. A follow-up e-mail was sent to the same group of students on October 20, 2020, to remind them of the opportunity to apply for Federal CARES grant funds. The Federal CARES grant application was duly opened on October 15, 2020, at 8 a.m. and closed on October 26, 2020, at 11:59 p.m.
Institutional Portion
Review the budget and expenditure reporting associated with the institutional portion of the Federal CARES Act allocation for Western Washington University.
Quarterly Report for Quarter Ending December 31, 2020