CARES Act

The "CARES Act” (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act) Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) - expressly stipulated in the Recipient’s Funding Certification and Agreement for Grants to Students - provides funding to institutions to provide directly to students "for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to Coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child-care expenses.”

OCC signed the Certification and Agreement form and submitted it to the Department of Education on April 15, 2020 with assurance that 50% of the funds received would be awarded directly to eligible students. The Department of Education approved the Grant on April 25, 2020 and OCC received the ability to draw funds for OCC students of $3,737,183 on May 12, 2020.

15,263 students were enrolled at OCC for Winter Term 2020 and an estimated 5,400 students were identified as meeting the criteria of the CARES Act. OCC awarded grants from $750 to $1500 per eligible student based on qualified credits upon completion of an application to attest they incurred expenses due to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. Awarding for Winter 2020 is now complete.

Eligible Summer 2020 students that did not previously receive a CARES award in the Winter 2020 term have been awarded. Awards were $750 to $1500 per eligible student based on qualified credits upon completion of the summer application to attest they incurred expenses due to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. Awarding for Summer 2020 is now complete.

Awarding has now begun for eligible Fall 2020 students that did not previously receive a CARES award in the Winter 2020 and Summer 2020 terms with the remaining CARES funding. Awards are $750 to $1500 per eligible student based on qualified credits upon completion of the fall application to attest they incurred expenses due to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. Grants for fall will be awarded on a first-come-first-served based until the grant funds are depleted.

The CARES Act HEERF grant funds awarded by OCC are summarized as follows:

OCC students who faced expenses related to the disruption of campus operations during the Winter 2020, Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 terms due to COVID-19, must apply for this emergency grant award on OCC’s scholarship application website. The current awarding term is Fall 2020. Awarding for earlier terms is now complete. The application is simple and only takes a few minutes.

Funds were disbursed to eligible students enrolled in the Winter 2020 term as of March 13, 2020 or enrolled in the Summer 2020 term and awarding for these terms is complete. Funding will be disbursed on a first-come, first-served basis for eligible students enrolled in the Fall 2020 term until CARES funds are depleted. If you previously received CARES funding you are not eligible for and additional Fall CARES award.

In order to be considered for this award, Winter 2020 and Summer 2020 students must have completed the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Any Fall 2020 applicants must complete the 2020-2021 FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid).

Unfortunately, students not eligible to complete, or who have decided not to complete, the FAFSA application, or are ineligible for Title IV aid, will not be able to submit an application for this CARES Emergency Grant Award. Other eligibility requirements include having taken eligible credit hours (see FAQ on eligible credit hours).

Credit hours for courses that were completed before 3/13/2020 are not eligible.

OCC graduates who attended in the Winter 2020 term as of March 13, 2020, and meet the eligibility requirements are deemed eligible by OCC for the grant since they met the criteria for the funds.

No, International F1 students are not eligible to receive Title IV funds.

The award amount of the CARES Emergency grant is $750-$1500 per eligible student enrolled in the Winter 2020 as of March 13, 2020, enrolled in Summer 2020 or Fall 2020. Award amount is based on qualified credits. Awarding for Winter 2020 and Summer 2020 is complete. Awards for Fall 2020 will be first-come-first-served based on application date until funding has been depleted.

No, the CARES Emergency Grant awards are not loans or advance payments and do not have to be paid back.

The CARES Emergency Grant award established by the Federal CARES Act is intended to provide students with emergency financial aid grants for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the Coronavirus, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care.

The CARES Act requires OCC to provide the emergency grants directly to the student. OCC may not apply the funds to satisfy a student’s outstanding account balance. Specifically, the guidance says, "The disbursement of the emergency financial aid grant to the student must remain unencumbered by the institution; debts, charges, fees, or other amounts owed to the institution may not be deducted from the emergency financial aid grant." These funds must be delivered directly to the student by check, ACH/E-check or means deemed appropriate by the institution.

Award funds must be delivered directly to the student using a means such as a check or ACH/E-check. For faster refunds, we encourage all students to sign up for direct deposit (ACH/E-check). Signup on MyOCC under the Student menu, Financial Profile, Bank Information.

There are a number of financial resources available to OCC students, including for those students who are not eligible for CARES Emergency Grant Awards. These include OCC Foundation scholarships, Student Success Fund (please contact an OCC Counselor) and other resources coordinated through OCC’s Financial Aid office.

We also encourage all students to complete the 2020-21 FAFSA form which covers Fall 20, Winter 21 and Summer 21. Completing the FAFSA is the only federally approved instrument that allows an institution to evaluate a student and their family’s ability to pay for college. By completing the FAFSA, OCC’s Financial Aid office has greater ability to work with students and parents with income reductions and other changes that affect the family’s income.

Questions can be emailed to CARES@oaklandcc.edu. Please allow 48 hours for a reply.

Yes, besides receiving the CARES grant for emergency awards paid directly to the students affected by the disruption of campus operations, the College also received another grant in the amount of $3,737,183. The College has allocated expenses and used these funds according to the federal guidelines and will continue to do so until the funds are fully expended or one year from the date of the initial award (until approximately April 2021). Quarterly expenditure reports are required. Click on the links to review the quarterly reports: 9/30/2020, 12/31/2020.