Wednesday, May 06, 2020 4:10 PM

Under Sec 18004, Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) within the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Northwest College has received a block of federal funds that can be used to support its students who have experienced new financial expenses due to disruptions to Northwest College’s campus operations due to COVID-19.

IMPORTANT: Lost Student Employment wages that were not able to be earned due to the closure of the Northwest College campus to the general public after March 13, 2020 are not an eligible financial circumstance under US Department of Education implementation of the CARES Act.

Qualified applicants will have an emergency grant disbursed to them through their Northwest College student account to help offset new financial expenses that meet emergency grant eligibility requirements.  Emergency funding applications are evaluated as first come, first served, and will be considered until available funds are exhausted.  Student eligibility for emergency grants is dictated by the eligibility provisions & statutes within the CARES Act along with published US Department of Education CARES Act guidance.  Northwest College is required to document an applicant’s eligibility before disbursing an emergency grant.

Tuesday, June 23, 2020 10:16 AM

In order to be eligible for consideration, Northwest College you must meet four (4) eligibility requirements:

1. You must have a new, demonstrable, financial expense that was caused by the disruption to Northwest College’s campus operations due to COVID-19. Disruptions to College operations due to COVID-19 occurred in four areas:
   
   1. The College closed its dining hall to the public after March 13, 2020.
   2. The College closed its Childcare Learning & Care Center to the public after March 13, 2020.
   3. The College converted the majority of its face-to-face classes to online delivery formats after March 13, 2020.
   (General financial expenses related to COVID-19, but that are not directly related to the three specified circumstances listed above, or financial needs, such as the loss of employment income, are not eligible for emergency grant consideration.)
2. You must be eligible for Title IV/Federal Student Aid. The College will confirm eligibility by verifying:
   1. That you have successfully completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current academic year at the time of emergency grant consideration (completion includes satisfying all mandated Identity & Statement of Educational Purpose requirements, if necessary).
   2. That you are enrolled in a Northwest College program that is eligible for Title IV/Federal Student Aid at the time of emergency grant consideration.
   3. That you meet all Title IV/Federal Student Aid Satisfactory Academic Progress qualitative & quantitative requirements at the time emergency grant consideration.
   (Students who cannot be confirmed to be eligible for Title IV/Federal Student Aid are not eligible for emergency grant consideration.)
3. You must have had at least one (1) previously enrolled face-to-face course converted to an online delivery format after March 13, 2020. (Students who were enrolled exclusively in online courses prior to March 13, 2020 are not eligible for emergency grant consideration.)
4. You must be an active student at the time of emergency grant consideration. Students who had dropped or withdrew from all courses during the 20/SP semester (total withdrawal) or who graduated after the conclusion of the 20/SP semester are ineligible for consideration, as they are no longer considered to meet the definition of “enrolled”.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020 10:04 AM

Submit the online emergency grant application through your student portal. Answer each question and provide a detailed description of how your new financial expense was the direct result of changes to Northwest College’s campus operations due to COVID-19. Without this detailed explanation your grant request will not be considered.

Tuesday, May 26, 2020 2:51 PM

As a HEERF participating institution, the following information is provided by Northwest College in accordance with reporting requirements listed at Federal Student Aid.

1. An acknowledgment that the institution signed and returned to the Department the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or 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.

Northwest College signed and submitted, through Grants.gov to the U.S. Department of Education, the agreement documents certifying that the institution has used, or 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.

2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.

Northwest College received $366,334 to distribute as emergency grants to students.

3. The total amount of Emergency Financial Aid Grants distributed to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of submission (i.e., as of the 30-day Report and every 45 days thereafter).

Fewer than 10 students (as of May 21, 2020)

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), in conjunction with Federal Student Aid guidance, Northwest College is prohibited from reporting on fewer than 10 students in order to comply with and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records.

4. The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

250

5. The total number of students who have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

Fewer than 10 students (as of May 21, 2020)

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99), in conjunction with Federal Student Aid guidance, Northwest College is prohibited from reporting on fewer than 10 students in order to comply with and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records.

6. The method(s) used by the institution to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

Northwest college published an application for students to request CARES Act emergency grants for new financial expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 during the spring 2020 semester.  Notifications of the availability of emergency grants and the application process were distributed to spring 2020 semester enrolled students deemed likely to be eligible for consideration according to Federal Student Aid guidance.

In addition to name, student ID, academic program, and contact information, the application asks students to confirm their new financial expenses is related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 (food, transportation, course materials, technology/internet, childcare) during the spring 2020 semester. Applicants provide a brief description of their circumstances and the calculation of the amount of expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19, in conjunction with attesting to the authenticity of their request, and acknowledging the limitation of available funds and the possibility of adjustment to, or denial of, requested grant amounts.

All requests from qualified students for emergency grants commensurate with described eligible expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19 during the spring 2020 semester are approved until Northwest College exhausts its allocation of emergency grant funds, or one-year elapses from the date which the College was approved for HEERF funding, whichever comes first.

7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.

Northwest College publishes information related to HEERF emergency grants in:

• the COVID-19 area of its institutional website, which provides information on:

• the purpose of the emergency grants; and,
• the student eligibility requirements to receive an emergency grant; and,
• the process in which a student may access the application for an emergency grant.

• the student application for an emergency grant, accessed within a student’s secure college portal.
• an explanatory denial letter sent to applicants who do not meet one or more student eligibility requirements.