University of Maine at Augusta
CARES Act Funding Under Section 18004(a)(1) – Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund 50% for Student Aid
45-Day Report – August 2020
Sponsor: U.S. Department of Education
Award Number: P425E201758
Award Amount: $675,763.00
Report Period: 04/24/2020-08/21/2020
Report Date: 08/21/2020
Source and Purpose of Funds
The University of Maine at Augusta (UMA) received the above award from the CARES Act passed by Congress and signed by the President on March 27, 2020 to provide emergency financial aid grants to eligible students for their expenses related to the disruption of our campus operations due to coronavirus.
On April 16, 2020, UMA submitted the required Certification and Agreement (please link signed C&A – from Jon) to the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) committing to use these funds to provide emergency aid directly to our eligible students.
Eligibility Requirements
Consistent with the guidance from the U.S. DOE, eligible students include all students who were enrolled at UMA on March 13, 2020 and are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), with the following exceptions:
– Non-degree seeking students
– International or DACA students
– Employees receiving UMS Employee Tuition benefits
– Early College students
– Students enrolled in exclusively online programs as of March 13, 2020.
Students who did not have a FAFSA on file with the university were able to under the penalty of perjury to meeting the requirements of Section 484 of the HEA using a self-certification form.
Distribution Plan
Consistent with the other institutions within the University of Maine System, of which UMA is a part, and in acknowledgement that every one of our students experienced disruption when COVID-19 forced all courses to be transitioned to online delivery, UMA will automatically distribute 85 percent of these funds to all eligible students. Award amounts will be tiered as follows based on the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled as of March 13, 2020:
.1 – 5.99 Credit Hours: $134
6 – 11.99 Credit Hours: $184
12+ Credit Hours: $234
The remaining 15 percent of the CARES student aid is being made available by application to eligible students who self-identify with additional need as a result of the disruption to campus operations caused by COVID-19. As we communicated to the entire student body on May 4, 2020, students may apply for those funds here (link communication and application page).
In some cases, emergency funds may have been supplemented with a portion of CARES dollars intended for institutional relief.
All distributions to student will be made via direct deposit or check. Because the IRS considers the CARES student funds as a “qualified disaster relief payment,” they are not considered taxable income.
Disbursements To-Date
| Distribution Type | Number of Eligible Students | Number of Students To Which Aid Has Been Distributed | Total Amount of Aid That Has Been Distributed | Amount of Funds Remaining for Disbursement |
| Automatic | 2,880 | 2,695 | $541,630.00 | $32,768.55 |
| Application | 2,880 | 247 | $101,322.32 | $42.13 |
| Total | 2,880 | 2,942 | $642,952.32 | $32,810.68 |