Financial Aid Cares Act

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Public Reporting

Southwest Tennessee Community College disbursed emergency student assistance provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act beginning June 4, 2020. The College began disbursing emergency student assistance provided by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) on April 16, 2021. The College began disbursing emergency student assistance provided by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) on August 20, 2021.

HEERF I - CARES

The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) funding to higher education institutions is meant 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 items

Students exclusively enrolled in online courses prior to March 13, 2020, were not originally eligible. In accordance with the HEERF Certification and Agreement signed and returned to the ED, 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 U.S. Department of Education (ED) 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 included:

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 unless they were awarded during the period of time in which ED guidance did not require Title IV eligibility for awarding. (Students paid between May 21, 2020 and June 17, 2020 were not required to be Title IV eligible due to ED not enforcing the portion of its guidance that states students must be, or could be, Title IV eligible in order to receive HEERF student emergency grant funds.)
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 whether the student is enrolled in eRefunds. 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.

Email Communications

The email communication sent to students may be reviewed here.

HEERF Student Payment Allocation Information

Total Students Potentially Eligible:	5,633
Total Money Available:	$3,649,219
Total Amount Paid:	$3,649,219
Total Number of Students Paid:	5,633

The table above was initially published within 30 days of the institution receiving HEERF funds and was updated no later than 10 days after the end of each calendar quarter through 4/10/22. The table below provides website update dates. Beginning with the quarter ended 6/30/22, the chart will no longer be updated, rather updated information will be provided on the quarterly federal report linked at the bottom of this site.

Date Institution Submitted HEERF Certification and Agreement to USDOE:	4/17/20
Date Information Originally Published Online:	5/22/20
Website Updated (1st 45-day requirement):	7/6/20
Website Updated (2nd 45-day requirement):	8/20/20
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	10/10/20
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	1/10/21
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	4/10/21
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	7/10/21
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	10/10/21
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	1/10/22
Website Updated (Quarterly requirement):	4/10/22

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 the College 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

Southwest determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following ED’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 ED 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. 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.

Email Communications

The email communication sent to students may be reviewed here.

HEERF II Payment Allocation Information

Total Students Potentially Eligible:	4,954
Total Money Available:	$3,649,219
Total Amount Paid:	$3,466,758
Total Number of Students Paid:	4,954

The table above was updated quarterly within 10 days of the close of each quarter through 4/10/22. Beginning with the quarter ended 6/30/22, the chart will no longer be updated, rather updated information will be provided on the quarterly federal report linked at the bottom of this site.

Archived charts available below:

Contact and Questions

Please direct all questions to CARES@southwest.tn.edu.

HEERF III - ARP

Funds awarded under 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.

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

Southwest determined funds would be allocated to the largest number of students possible due to impacts of COVID-19 related events. Following ED’s guidance, Pell eligible students will receive 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 on or after March 13, 2020.
Students did not have to be title IV eligible.
Students cannot be enrolled as dual enrollment or transient.
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

Students determined eligible for HEERF payments will receive a confirmation email from the college.

The email communications sent to students may be reviewed here.

HEERF III Payment Allocation Information

Total Students Potentially Eligible:	7,836
Total Money Available:	$14,074,423
Total Amount Paid:	$5,289,310
Total Number of Students Paid:	3,350