Please note: This blog is current to the date of its publication, Friday, April 3. For additional updates or assistance navigating these uncertain times, please contact us or visit our SST COVID-19 resource page.

Part of the government’s newly announced Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes an Emergency Stabilization Fund for colleges and universities.

To equip schools with a potential estimate of how much assistance they could receive, the American Council on Education (ACE) prepared a simulation for every institute of higher education. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) recently provided a helpful analysis of the ACE simulation, as well as the general Emergency Fund, which can be viewed in full here.

See below SST’s higher education experts’ top takeaways from the simulation:

  • The CARES Act allocates nearly $14 billion in grants to higher education in an Emergency Stabilization Fund
  • 90% of the $14 billion will be allocated to institutions based 75% on enrollment of FTE Pell Grant Recipients and 25% on enrollment of FTE non-Pell Grant recipients
  • 50% of the allocated $14 billion must go directly to students in the form of emergency financial aid grants
  • 50% of the allocated $14 billion can be used for crisis-related expenses, such as lost revenue, certain reimbursements, technology expenses, training and payroll.
  • Funding will be distributed by the Secretary of Education in the same manner that other Title IV aid is distributed

The NASFAA assessment is preliminary and will evolve as new guidance is available. In the meantime, more information on COVID-19’s impact on student financial aid is available on NASFAA’s COVID-19 web center.

SST is committed to equipping our clients with the most up-to-date information concerning COVID-19. We’re closely monitoring developments and encourage you to contact us with any questions or explore our COVID-19 resource page for additional information.

Thanks to SST Partner Eileen Keller for providing the content for this blog post.