Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Public Reporting (HEERF)
HEERF I—CARES
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released guidance related to CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions to assist students with unmet expenses as a result of COVID-19. Funds must be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus, such as:
- course materials
- technology
- food
- housing
- health care
- childcare
- or other cost of attendance related item
Furthermore, USDOE guidelines require emergency grants only be distributed to students who are eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs. Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 were not eligible.
In accordance with the HEERF Certification and Agreement signed and returned to the USDOE, the institution will use no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following Secretary of Education DeVos’s guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding.
Criteria for eligibility include:
- An individual must have been a student as of March 13, 2020
- Students must have been enrolled in at least one on-ground course as of March 13, 2020
- Students must have been Title IV eligible
- Per USDOE guidance, eligible students must meet citizenship requirements.
- Students cannot be enrolled as dual enrollment, non-degree seeking, or transient.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on if the student has an e-refund profile set up with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Students determined eligible for HEERF payments will receive a confirmation email from the institution. A copy of the email template may be viewed here. Please direct all disbursement questions to studentaccounts@pstcc.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds please contact the Financial Aid office at startstrong@pstcc.edu.
HEERF Payment Allocation Information
| Number of Title IV eligible students who may qualify for HEERF payments: | 4,504 |
| Total amount of HEERF aid available for payments to students: | $2,585,595 |
| Total amount of HEERF aid paid to eligible students: | $2,585,595 |
| Total number of eligible students paid: | 4,469 |
Table is initially published no later than 30 days after the institution received HEERF funds and is updated no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. The table below provides these dates.
HEERF II–CRRSAA
Funds awarded under section 314(a) of the CRRSAA must be reserved to provide students with financial aid grants, which may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare.
If an institution obtains a student’s written (or electronic), affirmative consent, an institution is permitted to apply these grants directly to the student’s institutional account; however, students must be informed that they retain the option to receive a direct disbursement of the financial aid grant and that an institution may not require that the grant be applied to the student’s account.
Unlike the CARES Act, the CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants, in awarding financial aid grants to students. However, students do not need to be Pell recipients or students who are eligible for Pell grants to be identified as having exceptional need. In addition, the CRRSAA explicitly provides that financial aid grants to students may be provided to students exclusively enrolled in distance education.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following USDOE’s guidance, Pell eligible students received priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students were also considered eligible for funding.
Criteria for eligibility include:
- An individual must have been enrolled at some point during the Spring 2021 semester.
- Students did not have to be title IV eligible. However, per USDOE guidance, eligible students had to meet citizenship requirements.
- Students cannot be enrolled as dual enrollment, non-degree seeking, or transient.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on if the student has an e-refund profile set up with the college. A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution.
Students determined eligible for HEERF payments will receive a confirmation email from the college. A copy of the email template may be viewed here. Please direct all disbursement questions to studentaccounts@pstcc.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds please contact the Financial Aid office at startstrong@pstcc.edu.
HEERF II Payment Allocation Information
| Number of eligible students who may qualify for HEERF II payments: | 5,975 |
| Total amount of HEERF II aid available for payments to students: | $2,585,595 |
| Total amount of HEERF II aid paid to eligible students: | $2,585,595 |
| Total number of eligible students paid: | 5,973 |
HEERF III–ARP
Student HEERF funds awarded under the ARP must be reserved to provide students with financial aid grants, which may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare.
If an institution obtains a student’s written (or electronic), affirmative consent, an institution is permitted to apply these grants directly to the student’s institutional account; however, students must be informed that they retain the option to receive a direct disbursement of the financial aid grant and that an institution may not require that the grant be applied to the student’s account.
The ARP requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need, such as students who receive Pell Grants, in awarding financial aid grants to students. However, students do not need to be Pell recipients or students who are eligible for Pell grants to be identified as having exceptional need.
Payment Methodology
Our institution determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following USDOE’s guidance, Pell eligible students receive priority funding. However, based on our institution’s determined criteria, certain non-Pell eligible students are also considered eligible for funding.
Criteria for eligibility include:
- An individual must have been enrolled on or after March 13, 2020.
- Students did not have to be title IV eligible.
- Students complete an application requesting assistance and confirming they have a financial need due to COVID-19. They may also authorize payment towards current account balances, but this is not required for eligibility.
Disbursement Process
Any disbursed emergency grant funds will be released to students by either refund check or direct deposit, depending on if the student has an e-refund profile set up with the college. Students were provided the option to authorize payment towards current account balances, but this was not required for eligibility.
A payment is not necessarily a reflection of a student’s current student account balance, as these funds are disbursed directly to a student no matter if a current balance is owed to the institution, unless the student provided authorization for application to account balances.
Students determined eligible for HEERF payments will receive a confirmation email from the college. A copy of the email template may be viewed here. Please direct all disbursement questions to studentaccounts@pstcc.edu. For questions related to eligibility for CARES funds please contact the Financial Aid office at startstrong@pstcc.edu.
HEERF III Payment Allocation Information
| Total amount of HEERF III aid available for payments to students: | $9,817,290 |
| Total amount of HEERF III aid paid to eligible students: | $9,817,290 |
| Total number of eligible students paid: | 6,218 |
Table is initially published no later than 30 days after the institution received HEERF funds and is updated no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter. The table below provides these dates.
HEERF Quarterly Report
Quarterly Budget and Expenditure Reporting under CARES Act Sections 18004(a)(1) Institutional Portion, 18004(a)(2), and 18004(a)(3)
October 31, 2020
January 10, 2021
April 10, 2021 (original)
April 10, 2021 (revised)
July 10, 2021 (original)
July 10, 2021 (revised)
October 10, 2021
January 10, 2022
April 10, 2022
July 10, 2022
July 10, 2022 – (revised)
October 10, 2022
January 10, 2023
April 10, 2023
July 10, 2023