CARES Fund Reporting

CARES Act Emergency Relief Fund

The Federal Emergency Assistance Grant for Spring 2020

The U.S. President signed into law on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide economic relief from COVID-19. As part of the CARES Act, the Higher Education Relief Fund was created to provide colleges and universities with funds for emergency financial aid grants for students to cover institutional expenses related to the pandemic. Our approach to distributing these funds is student-centered.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) has received $ 1,744,428 to distribute to eligible students as an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under the CARES Act. In compliance with both the CARES Act and the Department of Education’s guidance, UMES signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education the Certification and Agreement which assured that UMES will distribute no less than 50% of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students. The funds will be distributed to eligible students experiencing financial hardships with expenses related to the disruption of campus operations, including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as:

Assistance with food purchases,
Needs related to housing/rent/utilities,
The purchase of course materials,
Technology-related needs, and/or
Assistance with health care and/or child care expenses.

Note: There are also restrictions on this funding. It cannot be used toward prior debt, study abroad, or expenses unrelated to COVID-19

A student must meet all the criteria listed below to qualify for funding through the UMES Cares Act Emergency Student Fund:

Enrollment as a degree-seeking student or eligible certificate program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for the spring 2020 semester
Enrollment in at least one in-person class as of March 13, 2020 (prior to the coronavirus pandemic)
Completed 2019-2020 FAFSA
A student who is a U.S. citizen or who meets the definition of an eligible non-citizen based on federal financial aid requirements

The distribution of funds was as follows: