Financial Aid
Eagles CARES Act
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The 麻豆视频 will receive $6,753,021 in CARES Act funding designated for Emergency Financial Aid Grants for students. 麻豆视频鈥檚 goal is to distribute CARES Act funds as soon as possible, and to disburse all funds in the allotted one-year time frame. (Funds are no longer available)
Students must have a current 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file to confirm eligibility for the Eagles CARES Act Grant. Students who have not filed a FAFSA, but believe they are eligible according to the criteria below, should complete a FAFSA online . The Southern Miss school code is 002441.
- Students are not eligible if they were enrolled exclusively in an online program on March 13, 2020, the date a national emergency was declared.
- Students must be Title IV Eligible under Section 484 of the Higher Education Act requiring
institutions to confirm eligibility of the following items:
- Determined from information on the FAFSA:
- Not owe an overpayment on Title IV grants or loans.
- Not be in default on a Title IV loan.
- Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or other eligible non-citizen.
- Have returned fraudulently obtained Title IV funds if convicted of, pled guilty to, or no contest to charges.鈥�
- Not have fraudulently received Title IV loans in excess of annual or aggregate limits.
- Have repaid Title IV loan amounts in excess of annual or aggregate limits if obtained inadvertently.
- Have Selective Service registration verified if the student is a male between the ages of 18-26.
- Have Social Security Number verified.
- Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.
- File "as part of the original financial aid application process" a certification that includes a statement of educational purpose if requested by the Department of Education.
- Determined by the institution:
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a degree program.鈥�
- Not be enrolled in an elementary or secondary school.
- Be making satisfactory academic progress, if currently enrolled.
- Determined from information on the FAFSA:
More information about the CARES Act and eligibility can be found .
To be considered for the Eagles CARES Act Grant, students must complete the online and the located in SOAR. On the Student Homepage, students can click on the Eagles CARES Act Grant tile to submit the application. For priority consideration, students should apply and submit the FAFSA by June 1, 2020.
Students who have completed the 2019-2020 FAFSA, submitted the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application in SOAR, and meet all eligibility requirements will receive an initial award expeditiously after eligibility is determined. Initial awards are based off of qualifying expenses such as housing, meals, travel, and online learning expenses. Students who believe they experienced additional costs, exceeding the initial award, can indicate this on the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application, and additional aid may be awarded based on fund availability after the June 1, 2020 priority deadline.
1. Who may be eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant?
- Students are not eligible if they were enrolled exclusively in an online program on March 13, 2020, the date a national emergency was declared.
- Students must be Title IV Eligible under Section 484 of the Higher Education Act requiring
institutions to confirm eligibility of the following items:
- Determined from information on the FAFSA:
- Not owe an overpayment on Title IV grants or loans.
- Not be in default on a Title IV loan.
- Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or other eligible non-citizen.
- Have returned fraudulently obtained Title IV funds if convicted of, pled guilty to, or no contest to charges.鈥�
- Not have fraudulently received Title IV loans in excess of annual or aggregate limits.
- Have repaid Title IV loan amounts in excess of annual or aggregate limits if obtained inadvertently.
- Have Selective Service registration verified if the student is a male between the ages of 18-26.
- Have Social Security Number verified.
- Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.
- File "as part of the original financial aid application process" a certification that includes a statement of educational purpose if requested by the Department of Education.
- Determined by the institution:
- Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a degree program.鈥�
- Not be enrolled in an elementary or secondary school.
- Be making satisfactory academic progress, if currently enrolled.
- Determined from information on the FAFSA:
2. Who determines my eligibility?
The Office of Financial Aid, will take information acquired from the FAFSA, Eagles CARES Act Grant Application, and other entities on campus to determine your eligibility for the Eagles CARES Act Grant.
3. Am I eligible if I am a new student starting in the Summer 2020 or Fall 2020 semester?
No. Students must have been enrolled as of March 13th, 2020 in an on campus program during the Spring 2020 semester to be eligible.
4. Can the Office of Financial Aid use my 2020-2021 FAFSA to determine my eligibility?
No. You must submit the 2019-2020 FAFSA to be considered for the Eagles CARES Act Grant.
5. How and when will I know any final decisions made for the disbursement of funds?
Students who have completed the 2019-2020 FAFSA, submitted the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application in SOAR, and meet all eligibility requirements will receive an initial award expeditiously after eligibility is determined.
6. Is Selective Service Registration required for every student?
No. Selective Service Registration is only required for males between the ages of 18-26.
7. How much will I be eligible to receive?
The amount per student will vary based off student responses and remaining funds.
Students who have completed the 2019-2020 FAFSA, submitted the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application in SOAR, and meet all eligibility requirements will receive an initial award expeditiously after eligibility is determined. Initial awards are based on qualifying expenses incurred such as housing, meals, travel, and online learning expenses. Students who believe they experienced additional costs, exceeding the initial award, can indicate this on the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application, and additional aid may be awarded based on fund availability after the June 1st priority deadline.
8. I'm a fully online student at 麻豆视频. Am I eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant?
No. Students enrolled in an exclusively online program as of March 13th, 2020 are not eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant.
9. How do I apply for the Eagles CARES Act Grant?
Students can navigate to the Eagles CARES Act Grant tile on their Student Homepage in SOAR. Applications must be submitted by June 1, 2020 for priority consideration. All applications must be accompanied by an official 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To complete the FAFSA click .
10. How will I receive the funds?
If you are eligible to receive the Eagles CARES Act Grant, they will be awarded to your financial aid account and then disbursed to your student account. The funds will not be used to pay any charges on your account; they will be refunded to you using your BankMobile refund preference. For information about setting your refund preference, visit BankMobileDisbursements.com.
11. I have not been eligible for financial aid (federal loans or grants) during the regular fall or spring semesters. Will I be eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant?
Just because a student is not eligible for federal loans or grants, does not necessarily mean they are not eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant. If your 2019-2020 FAFSA and the Eagles CARES Act Grant Application have been submitted by the June 1, 2020 priority deadline. The Office of Financial Aid will determine if you are eligible.
12. Do students qualify for the Eagles CARES Act Grant funding since the university switched to an online delivery method?
Students enrolled in an exclusively online program as of March 13, 2020 are not eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant. The closure of campus does not impact your program designation in SOAR. Your eligibility will be determined based off your program delivery mode prior to the campus closure.
13. I am an international on an F1 visa. Am I eligible to apply for the Eagles CARES Act Grant?
No. Student鈥檚 on a F1 visa are not eligible. Students must be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident, or other eligible non-citizen to be eligible for the Eagles CARES Act Grant.
14. Do I have to repay this award after I am no longer in school?
The Eagles CARES Act Grant is not a loan. It is gift-aid from the federal government that is not required to be repaid.
15. If I already have a FAFSA on file for 2019-2020, do I need to file a new one or does the one already filed suffice?
If your 2019-2020 FAFSA has already been received by Southern Miss, you are not required to file a new one.
16. If I am still completing the verification process for my 2019-2020 FAFSA, do I still qualify for the EAGLES CARES Act Grant?
It depends on the student situation. Please contact the Office of Financial Aid for further clarification.
The Certification and Agreement directs each institution applying for HEERF funds to comply with Section 18004(e) of the CARES Act and submit an initial report (the 鈥�30-day Fund Report鈥�) to the Secretary thirty (30) days from the date of the institution鈥檚 Certification and Agreement to the Department. The Department will provide instructions for providing the required information to the Secretary in the near future. In the meantime, each HEERF participating institution must post the information listed below on the institution鈥檚 primary website. The Department would like to receive the most current information from the date when the institution received its allocation for emergency financial aid grants to students, and the institution should have received its allocation within a few days after submitting the Certification and Agreement. Accordingly, the following information must appear in a format and location that is easily accessible to the public 30 days after the date when the institution received its allocation under 18004(a)(1) and updated every 45 days thereafter:
1. An acknowledgement 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.
On April 17, 2020 Dr. Rodney D. Bennett, President of The 麻豆视频, signed the Certification and Agreement of the CARES Act Emergency Financial Aid Grants agreeing to use 50 percent of the funds as direct payment to students. On April 21, 2020, the agreement was electronically submitted to the Department via the Grants.gov portal.
2. The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from the Department pursuant to the institution鈥檚 Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
On April 26, 2020, The 麻豆视频 received $6,753,021 in CARES Act Emergency Financial Aid Grants to distribute directly 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).
As of May 26, 2020, The 麻豆视频 has distributed $3,097,500.00.
As of June 26, 2020, The 麻豆视频 has distributed $6,753,021.00.
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.
Of the 13,509 students with an active Spring 2020 term, 11,372 students were potentially eligible; 2,137 were not eligible because of enrollment in an exclusively online program. Of the 11,372 potentially eligible, it was determined that 2,996 were not eligible because of other issues such as FAFSA completion, satisfactory academic progress, citizenship and other Title IV problems. When awarding began, 8,376 were eligible to receive the CARES Act Grant. Students were encouraged to resolve Title IV issues, and some became eligible as the awarding progressed.
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.
As of May 26, 2020, 6,195 students have received the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
As of June 26, 2020, 6,671 students have received the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
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.
Because only students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 are eligible for the emergency financial aid grants, we decided to require a 2019-2020 FAFSA to expedite processing.
Eagles CARES Act Grant Procedures
Identifying and Tracking Eligible Student:
The 麻豆视频 (麻豆视频) will require the 2019-2020 FAFSA and an online Eagles CARES Act Grant Application for awarding purposes. The Office of Institutional Research identified students who were not enrolled in an exclusively online program as of March 13, 2020. The cohort that was identified as potentially eligible was placed in PeopleSoft student group FAO1. In addition to the student group FAO1, to better track student cohorts, the Office of Financial Aid created two tracking checklists for students: COVID and COVIDA. COVID was assigned to students who were identified as not currently being eligible per the following criteria: international students, exclusively online programs, DACA students, non-degree programs, any certificate programs that did not qualify for Title IV Aid or had unresolved Title IV issues on their FAFSA. COVIDA was assigned to students who were identified as being eligible per an official FAFSA or students we thought would be eligible to complete a FAFSA. The FAO1 student group and the COVID and COVIDA checklists will be utilized as well during the awarding process.
Awarding Process:
The online Eagles CARES Act Grant Application will be completed by students online. Once students certify they have experienced expenses due to COVID-19 and submit the application, the data will be stored in a table in Peoplesoft. The Eagle App table will be the base for our awarding process. It will be joined with the COVID checklist table, student group table, and the student award table to verify eligibility prior to awarding. The Office of Financial Aid will process an initial $500 award for each eligible application every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday until the application deadline of June 1, 2020. Starting June 2, 2020, the Office of Financial Aid will pull data on all applications deemed eligible for the Emergency CARES Act Grant Funds and will perform data analysis of the applicants鈥� responses who indicated expenses other than housing, meals, travel, and online learning expenses. Based on responses provided, additional grant funds may be awarded to the students. Applications will be verified again to ensure the students remain eligible to participate in programs under section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Disbursing Process:
Once Eagles CARES Act Grants are awarded to students, they will be disbursed to the students鈥� 麻豆视频 student account. Business Services has set up the Eagles CARES Act Grant to be refundable only. It will not apply to any outstanding balance the student may owe the university as it will be automatically processed as a refund for each student. Similar to the awarding cycle, Business Services will generate refunds every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The refunds will be processed using BankMobile Disbursements according to the students鈥� selected refund preference.
7. Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants.
Details of The 麻豆视频鈥檚 instructions, directions, or guidance can be found here.