By Rachel Huser
Dominican students have been able to apply for some of the $1.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief beginning Friday, Feb. 26.
The money is from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), commonly known as the second round of the CARES Act.
The application was open until 5 p.m. Monday, March 8.
Students will receive information about the online application via email, myDU notifications, the Wednesday memo and a text message, said Mark Titzer, vice president for finance and treasurer.
“We want to have everyone apply,” he said.
The email came from Student Success and Engagement Friday, Feb 26 afternoon.
The second round of the CARES Act features a new option for students. They can still choose to get an e-check, which was how the university distributed the March 2020 round of aid. In addition, students can now have the grants directly applied toward their tuition bill, said Titzer.
According to Titzer, the university will calculate grants based on students’ financial aid information including their eligibility status for Pell Grants, their FAFSA and their estimated family contribution (EFC).
Students who are unable to file a FAFSA will not be eligible to apply for the CARES Act funds, Dr. Barrington Price, vice president of student success and engagement, said. However, Dominican is using their institutional funds to meet the needs of these students. Grants will be equivalent regardless of FAFSA filing status.
“We want everybody to have access to the dollars,” he said.
Students who aren’t eligible for federal funding include DACA recipients, undocumented and international students received a different application Feb. 19, Titzer said. The application process will be very similar to the one that students who are eligible for federal funding also received.
The federal government split the CARES Act into three parts: funds given directly to students, institutional funds, and minority-serving institution money, an extension of the institutional funds, said Titzer. DACA, undocumented and international students will receive their CARES Act grants from the institutional funds.
“We are trying to be as inclusive as possible,” Titzer said.
The application process will be similar to the one released in March 2020. Junior Silvia Dimayuga applied for it and used the funds to pay her tuition.
“The process of applying for it was super easy,” she said.
Sophomore Gigi Gonzalez also applied for the March funds. She asked for $500 and used the money to pay for a summer chemistry class.
“If I asked for more, I would’ve had to provide receipts,” Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez also applied for this most recent round. “It was easy. It took me less than a minute,” she said.
Dominican is aiming for this round of applications to be easy, Titzer said. The school is doing its best to streamline the process. The university will send the money by March 25.
“We are the most interested in getting money into students’ pockets,” he said.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the first and second round of the CARES Act totals $3.9 trillion. Of that, $35.2 billion is being used for higher education, with $22.7 billion coming from this second round.
The remaining $3.2 million of the $5 million that Dominican received from the federal government “will really be assigned to lost revenue,” said Titzer. “We are also looking for ways to compensate faculty and staff,” he said.
However, Titzer said that due to the decrease in resident students, lower enrollment at the daycare center, fewer performing arts events, and other items, the bulk of the remaining CARES Act money will be used to make up for lost revenue and reimburse the university for personal protective equipment.
rhuser@my.dom.edu
Feature image by Natalie Stellato (@nataliestellanotte)
