HIGHER EDUCATION EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND (HEERF)

The Federal Government established the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability Act (CARES) on March 27, 2020. Supplemental HEERF Funds were later authorized through the 2021 Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) and the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP).

Cayuga Community College has been allocated HEERF funding to provide emergency grants to students experiencing financial hardship, specifically due to the disruption of campus operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and/or for expenses related to any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus.

As a recipient of HEERF emergency student grant funding, Cayuga Community College is required to report certain elements on a quarterly basis:

  • An acknowledgment that the institution has used, or intends to use, the funds to provide emergency grants to students.
  • The total amount that the institution will receive, or has received, in HEERF funding.
  • The total amount that has been distributed to students.
  • The estimated total number of students eligible to receive an emergency grant.
  • The total number of students who have received an emergency grant.
  • The method the institution used to determine which students did or will receive emergency grants and how much funding they did or will receive.
  • Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the emergency grants.

The above items can be viewed for each act separately through the links below, along with the quarterly report for institutional funds. There is also a summary of all the funds received and awarded in the three federal acts.

HEERF SUMMARY INFORMATION