Congress passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) to provide students with emergency financial aid.

In order to award HEERF funds to students, the Department of Education (ED) requires all institutions to provide regular information regarding the funding, awarding and number of students receiving these emergency grants. 

• On April 26, 2020, the Department of Education notified Missouri S&T that it was approved to receive HEERF funds totaling $5,205,598 of which $2,602,799 (50%) were to be awarded in direct emergency grants to students. Missouri S&T completed the necessary certification and agreement for the funds while developing a process to award the emergency grants to students. 
• In order to qualify for the emergency grants, students had to be eligible for Title IV funding as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965. At the time this funding was made available, Missouri S&T had an estimated 7,824 students who could be Title IV eligible. 
• Between the dates of May 1, 2020 and October 5, 2020:
  • All students wishing to receive the emergency grant needed to submit an application requesting the funds. Applications were reviewed and, if approved, received grants ranging between $100 and $1,200 per application with awards not being greater than the student’s request. Special circumstances were reviewed on a case-by-case basis with documentation being requested as needed. Approved requests had to meet Title IV eligibility, qualifying expenses, and enrollment criteria.
  • In limited situations, awards may exceed $1,200 if the student has a demonstrated greater need by being Pell or near-Pell eligible as defined by an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) equal to 12,000 or less per Federal Methodology, or based upon extraordinary circumstances.
• Beginning October 5, 2020:
  • A new application was created and all students wishing to receive the emergency grant needed to utilize the new application to request funds. Applications were reviewed and, if approved, received grants ranging between $100 and $6,345 (20-21 maximum Pell Grant award) with awards not being greater than the student’s request. Special circumstances were reviewed on a case-by-case basis with documentation being requested as needed. Approved requests had to meet Title IV eligibility, qualifying expenses, and enrollment criteria.  Students could submit a subsequent application and receive multiple disbursements.
• All eligible students received an email solicitation to apply for the emergency grants as well campus-wide communications promoting the application. Social media posts across multiple pages and departments also solicited applications from students. Additional links to the CARES Act Student Emergency Aid website were added to student focused pages. Regular updates and solicitations were sent to student's campus and/or personal email.  
• As of October 13, 2020, all funding ($2,602,799) was awarded to 1,625 students.