Response to U.S. Department of Education

FSC Home > COVID-19 > FSCares Plan > Response to DOE

Response to the U.S. Department of Education

The U.S. Department of Education directed all institutions who received CARES Act funds to share how those funds were used.

The College signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education the CARES Act certification and agreement. Florida Southern has used 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.

The Department of Education awarded Florida Southern $1,145,996 in emergency financial aid for students. Beginning the week of May 4, the College awarded 2,969 students a total of $1,162,200 (the additional funds came from CARES ACT institutional funds).

Every student who met U.S. Department of Education eligibility requirements received emergency aid. The College shared a link to the U.S. Department of Education’s website about eligibility requirements and the use of the emergency grants.

The College did not require students to submit any type of application.

A formula was used to determine the different amounts for students in six categories: evening program, graduate program, doctorate program, day program commuter, day program residential, and Pell Award recipients.

Students in each program received the same amount of emergency aid as other students in the same program. Students who received Pell Grants were awarded additional funds on top of the standard award for their program.

Response to the U.S. Department of Education - CRRSAA HEERF II – 6/23/2021

The U.S. Department of Education directed all institutions who received CRRSAA HEERF II funds to share how those funds were used.

The College signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education the CRRSAA HEERF II certification and agreement. The Department of Education awarded Florida Southern $3,566,789, of which $1,145,996 was to be used in emergency financial aid for students. Beginning March 4, 2021 through April 7, 2021, the College awarded 1,680 students a total of $1,145,996.

Every student who met U.S. Department of Education eligibility requirements and submitted an application received emergency aid. The College shared a link to the U.S. Department of Education’s website about eligibility requirements and the use of the emergency grants.

The College required students to submit an application to receive CRRSAA HEERF II funds. Students that sent in their application were prioritized using the following criteria:

Florida Southern prioritized currently enrolled undergraduate students with exceptional need as determined by the 2020-2021 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as instructed by Congress. Further, the grants were based on a sliding scale that takes into account those students with the greatest need (Pell Grant recipients), to those families with an Expected Family Contribution (ECF) under $35,000, then to all others. A limited amount was also available for graduate students. The College also used funds from the $2,420,793 allocated to institutional funds for students for COVID testing and other related expenses.