Oakland University students who incurred qualifying expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the pandemic can still apply for additional Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) emergency grants.
The additional grants are limited to a maximum of $500 each to cover certain student expenses related to the campus disruption due to the coronavirus.
Students who already received an initial CARES Act emergency grant and who have additional financial need or hardship due to the coronavirus may apply for additional grants to help cover certain expenses.
Students who did not receive an initial CARES Act emergency grant and who filed a 2019-2020 FAFSA by the June 30, 2020 federal deadline may also submit an application.
Students must meet eligibility requirements for Title IV federal student aid; therefore, they must have completed a 2019-20 FAFSA. The deadline for submitting the CARES Act emergency grant application is August 22, 2020.
To be Title IV aid eligible under Section 484 of the HEA, the student must:
Eligible students will be selected for emergency grants on a rolling basis until the $1 million in funding designated for this purpose is exhausted. Recipients will receive an official notification with directions on how to sign up for non-payroll direct deposit, so they can safely and easily secure the grants in a timely manner.
Students not eligible for CARES Act HERFF grant funding may apply for assistance from other institutional emergency funds, such as the OU COVID-19 Special Relief Fund. These funds have different eligibility requirements than the CARES Act HEERF grants. Students are also encouraged to discuss other financial options with Student Financial Services at [email protected] or (248) 370-2550.
Prior to this process, 10,681 Oakland University students were automatically selected (no application required) to receive an emergency grant of $500 for a total of $5.3 million, which was disbursed from May 15-22. This initial group of students met the following criteria:
1) Title IV aid eligible (2019-20 FAFSA)
2) Registered for Winter 2020 in at least 1 credit hour as of March 13
3) Not attending 100 percent online courses/program prior to March 13
The new application process yielded an additional 822 awards, from $50 to $500, for a total of $405,263 disbursed to students.