The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) provides funding to institutions for emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Below is Mountainland Technical College’s initial 30-Day report.

With regard to the CARES Act Section 18004(a) (1), Mountainland Technical College (MTECH) acknowledges and assures that: 

1. A signed Certification and Agreement was returned to the Department of Education on May 22, 2020 with the intention of using 50% of the funds received to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
2. The total amount of funds that MTECH is scheduled to receive for the benefit of students is $304,741.
3. $0 in Emergency Financial Aid Grants have been provided to students as of June 26, 2020.
4. The estimated number of students 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 under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act is 424.
5. As of June 26, 2020 no students have received funding.
6. Strategic members of MTECH’s staff developed the methods used to determine which students will receive the emergency funding, as well as how much they receive.
7. Completion of an Application/Certification for federal CARES Act Funds, which specifies that the student incurred expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, technology, health care, utilities, and childcare)
8. Students must be Title IV eligible and making satisfactory academic progress as required by the CARES Act.
9. MTECH Financial Aid Office will verify eligibility in accordance with the CARES Act.
10. The minimum scholarship is $500, Maximum is $6195
11. An average pricing review of Utah County was scaled to determine allocations to each of the expense areas students self-certified as being affected due to the COVID pandemic. The results are as follows: 
    1. Technology = $337; (Internet = $60 x 2.5 mos. = $150, Upgrades & Antivirus (1x) = $187)
    2. Utilities = $200 per month x 2.5 mos. = $500
    3. Child Care = $600 per month x 2.5 mos. = $1,500
    4. Food = $285.07 per month x 2.5 mos. = $713
    5. Medical Expense = $180 per month x 2.5 mos. = $450
12. Amount: Awards to each student will be determined by the preceding amounts.
13. MTECH has posted instructions and guidance for students regarding CARES Act funding on its website and on various social media outlets routinely utilized. Eligible students have been emailed instructions to locate and complete the application/certification to request funding. Students are also given the option to submit their banking information online so they may receive their funds electronically. 

Click here for more information about the CARES Act Emergency Fund Selection Process.