The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, was approved on December 27, 2020 in response to ongoing challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. This new law received bipartisan support from federal legislators and includes additional stimulus funding for colleges and universities to provide emergency grants to college students whose lives and educations have been disrupted by the coronavirus outbreak. The U.S. Department of Education issued guidance for how these funds can be used.

Morton College received $1,266,322.00 from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) signed into law on December 27, 2020. This law has some similarities—as well as important differences—from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) that was enacted on March 27, 2020. Unlike the CARES Act, the CRRSAA requires that institutions prioritize students with exceptional need in 2021.
Funds from the CRRSAA are intended to assist students with expenses for any component of the student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare. All awards must adhere to federal statutory and regulatory requirements. Morton College designated CVD21 Grant as the name of the grant for this year’s emergency grants.

• Complete a 2020-2021 FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Meet all Financial Aid Requirements including:
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident or other eligible noncitizen.
  • Have a valid Social Security Number.
  • Be registered with Selective Service if you are male over the age of 17.
  • Be enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program.
  • Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
  • Making satisfactory academic progress (SAP).
  • Not owe an overpayment on Title IV grants or loans.
  • Not be in default on a Title IV loan.
  • Have returned fraudulently obtained Title IV funds if convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to charges.
  • Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.
• Must have received a spring 2021 disbursement as of March 16, 2021 from one of the below awards:
  • Pell.
  • Federal Direct Loan.
  • Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG).
  • Federal Work Study (FWS).
• Must be enrolled in the spring 2021 after the refund period and actively pursuing your courses.
• Have expenses incurred since December 27, 2020 related to cost of attendance or for emergency costs that arise due to coronavirus, such as tuition, food, housing, health care (including mental health care) or childcare.
• Electronically accept the predefined award by April 16, 2021.

• How Awards are Distributed

  The 2020-21 FAFSA information was used to determine student need. The allocation of funding was based on eligibility for Pell grants, enrollment status and the EFC. MC identified students who qualified for a spring 2021 disbursements as of March 16, 2021 and pre-awarded those students.

  TIERS

  Following the guidance from ED we allocated students with the greatest need first; our Zero EFC population. Our second population are the remaining need-based grant students. Our last population would only be eligible for Direct Loans.

  Tier	EFC	Need	Grant Allocation
  1	$0.00	Pell Grant Eligible	60 %
  2	$1 to $5711	Pell Grant Eligible	30 %
  3	$5712 and Higher	Loan Only/No Grant	1 %

   

  The final award amounts are determined by a student’s enrollment status. Full-time students (12 credit hours or more) incur more charges in tuition and fees. Therefore, their award allocation will be higher than a student who is attending less than half-time or less than 5 credit hours. Using the table below you will see our award distribution method.

  AWARD PER STUDENT

  Tier	F/T – 50%	3 /4 – 35%	1 /2 – 10%	LTHT – 5%
  1	$ 1,495.66	$ 1,042.85	$ 729.40	$ 452.26
  2	$ 1,165.33	$ 943.01	$ 584.46	$ 438.34
  3	$ 633.16	$ 316.58	$ 295.48	$ 126.63

PREQUALIFIED/PRE-AWARDED

To claim the COVID Emergency Grant (Phase 4) you must “Accept” the award through the Panther Portal and Financial Aid Self-Service. Failure to claim your prequalified award by April 16, 2021 will forfeit your grant and your grant will be reallocated to other eligible students.

To view a video of how to claim your grant click here. To download directions, click here. Written directions are available below.

1. Log into your Panther Portal and go to your Student Panther Portal.
2. Click on “Financial Aid- Am I Complete” under “Financial Aid” tab.
3. Now you are in your Financial aid information page. All your financial aid information is shown here. To view your awards, scroll down and click on “Review and accept your Financial Aid Award Package.”
4. Here you can view all your awards, to accept or decline awards, click on the” Accept/ Decline” in the corresponding award.
5. Now click on the award decision you would like to change the status of it.

All Other FA Eligible Students

Students with incomplete 2020-21 FAFSA’s are eligible to receive a $300 CRRSAA Grant beginning April 12, 2021 to April 23, 2021. Students must still complete the financial aid process to prove eligibility. Documents include but not limited to proof of citizenship or eligible status, proof of selective service, and/or high school transcript, etc.
Funds will be available through the deadline date or until depleted, whichever comes first. Once ALL deadlines have passed any remaining funds will be moved to the Fall 2021 semester for distribution.

To apply, click here.

Please Note: This application is for students who did not receive a COVID Emergency Grants for spring 2021. If you received a prequalified award for spring 2021 DO NOT submit this request as it may cancel out/reduce your current award.

If you complete the certification process funds will be distributed in the following manner:

• Students who have direct deposit information on file will be paid through direct deposit. This is the preferred method and quickest method to receive your refund. Students can set up on direct deposit in their Panther Portal.
• Checks will be mailed to all students who do not have direct deposit.  There could be a delay of 2 to 3 weeks before receiving.
• Information, processes, or award amounts are subject to change as ED continues to review and release guidance. Please visit this page https://www.morton.edu/cares-act-heerf/ for all updates and the latest information regarding the distribution of these funds.

Students with an Outstanding Balance

Students who wish to have the grant applied to their outstanding balance, must submit a request to the Cashier’s Office at Morton College. MC must have their consent to have the grant applied their outstanding balance.  The affidavit must be submitted to the Cashier’s Office no later than April 1, 2021.

The Office of Financial Aid is prepared to respond quickly to certifications and applications after determining eligibility based on each student's circumstances. Disbursements will become available 7 to 10 business days after receipt of certification or application.

Please do not send inquires to the financial aid COVID email address as this will prolong processing time for certifications and reviewing of applications. Monitor you MC email address and FA Self-Service to see if your award has been processed.

The CARES Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27. Under the act, about $14 billion was allocated to institutions of higher education. The most significant portion of that funding allocation provides $12.56 billion to institutions using a formula based on student enrollment. Of the amount allocated to each institution under this formula, at least 50 percent must be reserved to provide students with emergency financial aid grants to help cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.

The purpose of the CARES Act emergency fund is to provide emergency financial aid grants to students for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare, childcare expenses, and other expenses caused by the disruption to campus operations.

Morton College (MC) signed and returned to the Department of Education (ED) the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that WE have used, or intends to use, 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.

Morton College was awarded $1,266,321.50 to be awarded as emergency grants to students to defray the cost due to COVID-19.

Morton College received $1,266,322.00 from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) signed into law on December 27, 2020.

We estimate that 2,000 students are eligible for these funds.

ALL currently enrolled MC students as of March 13, 2020, who are eligible to receive federal financial aid based on their submission of the 2019–20 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

This is intended to provide immediate, meaningful assistance to students who already had a significant documented financial need and whose needs have grown during the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

Financial Aid eligibility requirements below:

• Complete a 2019-2020 FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov
• Meet all Financial Aid Requirements including:
  • Be a U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident or another eligible noncitizen.
  • Have a valid Social Security Number.
  • Be registered with Selective Service if you are male over the age of 17.
  • Be enrolled in an eligible degree or certificate program.
  • Have a high school diploma or equivalent.
  • Making satisfactory academic progress (SAP).
  • Not owe an overpayment on Title IV grants or loans.
  • Not be in default on a Title IV loan.
  • Have returned fraudulently obtained Title IV funds if convicted of or pled guilty or no contest to charges.
  • Not have a federal or state conviction for drug possession or sale, with certain time limitations.
• Must have received or be eligible to receive a spring 2020 disbursement.
  • Pell
  • Federal Direct Loan
  • Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
  • Federal Work Study (FWS)
  • Must be enrolled in the spring 2021 and actively pursuing your courses.
• Must be enrolled as of March 13, 2021.
• Complete the electronic certification or application by August 1, 2021.

The following students do not qualify for CARES Act Funds:

• Students who were enrolled exclusively in an online program prior to and as of March 13. In approving the CARES Act funding, Congress did not feel that the instruction and programming for these students were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak.
• International students and undocumented students, including Dream Act and DACA students. These students are not eligible for federal financial aid programs, including the CARES Act.
• Students who have not established eligibility for federal financial aid by successfully submitting a 2019–20 FAFSA.

The CARES Act funding is to be disbursed using federal guidelines and institutional procedures.  MC will distribute funds allocated through lump-sum grants to students based on a student’s Estimated Family Contribution (EFC).  We will allocate $1,116,321.50 to students we have identified as meeting ALL eligibility requirements.

These funds will be given to students with the most need.  In this case it will be students with zero ($0) EFC’s.  Zero EFC students are not able to contribute any additional funds towards their educational cost.  All other students with EFC’s higher than zero ($0) will be awarded a reduced amount.

One-time, lump-sum grants will be distributed to all students who complete the electronic certification by August 1,2021 . Amounts are determined based on the number of students awarded divided by the total allocated dollars.  See the table below:

Students who receive Phase 1 grants will be notified through their Morton College email accounts. Students must complete the certification and submit it through their Morton College email account by the August 1^st deadline.  Certifications submitted through other email domains (i.e. gmail. yahoo, etc.) will not be accepted.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

Morton College recognizes there are students who QUALIFY for financial aid but did not complete the process.  Our goal is to make funds available to all students who are indeed eligible for COVID-19 Emergency Grants.  Therefore, we have allocated $150,000 for students to self-identify as being eligible by completing the COVID-19 Emergency Fund Application.  Funds will be awarded on a first come first serves basis until the allocation is depleted.

Students who wish to apply for Phase 2 grants must complete the application and submit it through their Morton College email account on time.  Applications submitted through other emails will not be accepted.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

Recent guidance for the CARES Act funding from the ED extends the original funding period through the Fall 2020 semester. These funds will be disbursed using the same federal guidelines and institutional procedures listed in Phases 1 and 2.

MC will distribute funds allocated through an application process. Funds will be awarded by a committee on a first come first serve basis until the allocation is depleted.

When considering awards, we will use the application, enrollment information, and financial aid data to determine awards. Award amounts will vary but are limited to $400 per student for the fall term.

Consideration will be given to students with the most need. However, we encourage all students (who meet Title IV eligibility) to apply. Students must be enrolled in the Fall 2020 semester by August 24, 2020 and remain enrolled pass September 15, 2020 to qualify for these funds.