HEERF I - CARES Act

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 the HEERF dollars must go directly to eligible students in the form of emergency financial aid grants for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the COVID-19 crisis (HEERF Student Share Grant Funds).

The following information is provided by Alfred University (“AU”) as required by the Department of Education (“DOE”) in order to comply with the reporting requirements under the CARES Act. This is the University’s first 30-day progress report and presents information as of May 28, 2020. Additional reports will be provided every 45 days.

The first round of applications for the student share of the HEERF was available beginning May 14, 2020, closing on May 22, 2020. Upon review, if there are still funds available, students will be notified via email as soon as the second-round application is available.

Update (as of 7/12/20): AU received $1,046,994 in HEERF Student Share Grant funds. A total of 650 students applied for funding with the total amount of requests exceeding $1,046,994. AU distributed the total amount of funds received by the institution ($1,046,994) to students on June 28, 2020.

Update (as of 10/27/20): As noted on July 12, 2020, AU received and distributed the entire $1,046,994 of HEERF Student Share Grant funds received to students on June 28, 2020. As such, this update represents the final report and covers all HEERF fund expenditures for Section 18004(a)(1) Student Portion funds.

Update (as of 7/8/21): The statement above from 10/27/20 indicated that the report was marked final and covered all HEERF fund expenditures for Section 18004(a)(1) Student Portion funds. At the time of this statement, Alfred University was unaware of additional HEERF funding; therefore, effective 7/8/2021, this statement is revised to indicate that the report was marked final as it pertains to CARES HEERF I funds only. There will be subsequent reporting of supplemental HEERF funds received under CRRSAA (HEERF II) and ARP (HEERF III).



On April 28, 2020, AU signed and returned to the DOE the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that AU intends to 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.

Pursuant to the Certification and Agreement, AU is eligible to receive $1,046,994 in HEERF Student Share Grant Funds. While AU has received confirmation of the availability of these funds, AU has not drawn down the available funds.

As of the date of this submission, AU has not yet distributed any HEERF Student Share Grant Funds. As of May 14, 2020, AU finalized a policy regarding the HEERF Student Share Grant Funds and developed an online application process for students to request these grants. AU expects to distribute funds beginning June 15, 2020, after review of all applications.

As of the Spring 2020 academic term, AU estimates approximately 2,105 students may be eligible for the HEERF Student Share Grant Funds. This represents approximately 93% of AU’s total enrollment for the Spring term of approximately 2,265 students.

As of the date of this submission, no students have received HEERF Student Share Grants. On May 14, 2020, AU finalized its policy regarding HEERF Student Share Grant Funds and developed an online application process for students to request these grants. AU expects to distribute funds beginning June 15, 2020.

AU will receive $1,046,994 in HEERF Student Share Grant funds that will be distributed to students based on an application process. In the application process, the student is asked to certify the expenses incurred as a result of the disruption of campus operations. While the maximum award will ultimately be set by the actual number of applications received and the fund totals requested by students, AU intends to follow the guidance set by the DOE to limit the maximum award at the 19-20 PELL amount of $6,195.

AU received $1,046,994 in HEERF Student Share Grant funds. An application process was used to determine the students with a need for HEERF funding. In the application process, the student was asked to certify the expenses incurred as a result of the disruption of campus operations. A total of 650 students applied for funding with the total amount of requests exceeding $1,046,994. There were a handful of students who did not specify an amount, in which case AU determined a minimum amount appropriate. Students who requested less than $1,500 were funded their full requested amount up to a maximum of $1,000. Students who requested more than $1,500 were funded at 69% of their request. All amounts were rounded to the nearest dollar. AU followed guidance set by the DOE and limited the maximum request amount to the 19-20 PELL amount of $6,195.

AU developed an online application process for students to apply for the HEERF Student Share Grant Funds. The application was available May 14, 2020 through May 22, 2020. Once the application was available, students were encouraged to complete the brief application online. Students were notified that awards to eligible students will be made starting the week of June 15, 2020. All applications will receive careful consideration; however, funding constraints and federal guidelines may limit the number and size of awards we are able to distribute. In all cases, federal law and regulations will determine eligibility of individuals.