WOU COVID-19 information, Spring 2023

HEERF Institutional Portion Quarterly Reports

Note: HEERF institution quarterly reports for Q2-20, Q3-20, Q4-20, Q1-21, and Q2-21 are reported on an accrual basis. Reports for Q3-21, Q4-21, and Q1-22 are reported on a cash basis.

Outdated report publications are listed below for information purposes only.

Please refer to the reports above for Western Oregon University’s latest institutional quarterly report data.

On April 21, 2020 WOU signed and submitted to the US Department of Education the CARES Act Certification & Agreement. By doing so, WOU agreed to allocate no less than 50% of the $4,281,683 it received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to current WOU students. WOU received $2,140,842.00 for emergency financial aid grants to students.

An estimated 4,000 students at WOU were eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act. WOU notified students of their eligibility to submit this application by email. Students may have affirmatively elected to have their awards applied to their revolving charge accounts or otherwise receive the award as a disbursement in the form of a direct payment.

ROUND 1
Copy of email to eligible WOU Students (Sent April 30, 2020):

Dear Current Student,

As you may know, Congress approved the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act a few weeks ago to help people and businesses financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. A portion of those funds have been designated for Oregon college and university students who have incurred expenses directly related to the coronavirus disruption.

In order to get the funds to you as quickly as possible, we’ve created an application for students that must be completed by noon Friday, May 8, 2020. These are the eligibility requirements:

• • Must have been enrolled in in-person or hybrid courses at WOU on or after March 13, 2020.
  • Must be currently enrolled at WOU and will still be enrolled when funds are disbursed (both undergraduate and graduate students)
  • Must be eligible for federal financial aid. If you haven’t submitted a complete FAFSA® form for the 2019-2020 academic year, please apply through this link before May 8. The WOU code is 003209.
  • You must have incurred expenses directly related to the coronavirus disruption. The application requires specific numbers about the financial impact to you, so you want to compile that information before filling out the application.

We will screen the applications for eligibility and assign a score based on impact. We expect the demand for this program to be high. Because we have received limited emergency funds, it is possible that not every student who completes an application will receive funds. We will do everything we can to allocate these funds in a meaningful, transparent and fair manner.

The Financial Aid staff will review your request and may contact you for further information. If you are chosen to receive funds, they will be disbursed to your student account. If you have not already signed up for direct deposit, please do so in order to get your funds faster. The university cannot—and will not—automatically apply CARES Act emergency funds toward your student account balance.

We want help our students as effectively and meaningfully as possible, so we are happy to be able to offer this opportunity. If you meet the eligibility requirements listed above, I urge you to apply for CARES Act funds as quickly as possible before the May 6 deadline.

Sincerely,

Rex Fuller

ROUND 2

Copy of email to eligible WOU Students (Sent September 29, 2020):

Dear returning students,

Now that fall term has begun, we wanted to let you know about an additional financial assistance option that you might qualify for.

Similar to this spring, the federal CARES Act has provided universities with monetary assistance to help students who have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The second round of funding is available for students enrolled at WOU for fall term 2020.

Here are the requirements:

• • You must be a returning student (were enrolled in winter or spring 2020) and be registered for fall 2020.
  • Freshmen and transfer students are not eligible.
  • You must have a 2019-20 FAFSA® file.
  • You must NOT have been enrolled in an exclusively online program as of March 13, 2020.
  • You must have incurred expenses directly related to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • If you previously received funds from the first CARES Act application, you must have experienced additional expenses related to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in order to apply for the second round of funds.

The major difference between the first round of disbursements earlier this year and this second round of funding is that you do NOT need to have been enrolled at WOU during spring term to be eligible. So, if you didn’t enroll for spring term as a result of the unexpectedly all-remote format, financial hardship or other reasons, you may be eligible for this round of funding.

An application for the CARES Act funding is available here. It must be submitted by noon, Oct. 9. If you have any questions, contact Financial Aid at finaid@wou.edu.

We are happy to have you as part of the Wolves family this fall.

Sincerely,

Kella Helyer, Director of Financial Aid

After two rounds of allocations, 994 WOU students have received an Emergency Financial Aid Grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

• To determine which students received Emergency Financial Aid Grants and how much they would receive under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, students submitted an application answering six questions related to expenses they incurred as a result of COVID-19 campus disruptions. Answering ‘Yes’ to the following questions provided points toward receiving funds based on their total score. Award amounts range from $1,000 to $4,000. Each student received a score of 1-6. 1) Since March 13, 2020: Did the COVID-19 disruption cause an increase in expenses to purchase or access textbooks and course materials required for your courses? 2) Since March 13, 2020: Did the COVID-19 disruption force you to incur additional expenses, such as childcare, healthcare, or transportation? 3) Since March 13, 2020: Did the COVID-19 disruption impact your ability to afford or access food? 4) Since March 13, 2020: Did the COVID-19 disruption cause an increase in housing costs? 5) Since March 13, 2020: Did the COVID-19 disruption cause an increase in expenses dedicated to technology, such as a computer, tablet, or hotspot, necessary to attend courses in a remote environment? 6) Since March 13, 2020: Did YOU lose your job, or have significant (more than half) reduction in hours due to the COVID-19 disruption?

• For the first round of awards, students had to have attended both winter and spring terms 2020 to qualify. The initial round of funding was awarded to qualifying students who submitted their application by May 8, 2020. For the second round, students were not required to have attended winter and spring terms 2020. They were required to submit their applications by Oct. 10, 2020.

On December 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) was authorized by Congress. WOU received an additional $7,059,841 in funds for students and the institution. The institution portion of CRRSSA allocated to Western Oregon University was $4,918,999, and $2,140,842 was designated for students. WOU agreed to allocate the $2,140,842 it received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to WOU students. As of July 2021, Western Oregon University has distributed $2,140,805 CRRSSAA funds allocated to WOU students under Section 18004(a)(1) Student Portion.

WOU estimated 4,193 students were eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants under Section 18004(a)(1) of the Coronavirus Response & Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA).  WOU notified students of their eligibility to submit this application by email. Students may have affirmatively elected to have their awards applied to their revolving charge accounts or otherwise receive the award as a disbursement in the form of a direct payment.

Copy of email to eligible current WOU Students (Sent March 11, 2021):

Dear returning students,

We’re eager to see you return to Western Oregon University and continue your path to graduation. Similar to last year, the federal CARES Act (now the CRRSAA) has provided universities with monetary assistance to help students who have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This first round of funding is available for who are currently enrolled at the university.

Here are the requirements:

• •  You must be a returning student (enrolled in Fall or Winter 2020) and be registered for Spring 2021.
  •  You must have a 2020-21 FAFSA® file.
  •  You must have incurred expenses directly related to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An application for the CARES Act (CRRSAA) funding is available here. It must be submitted by 11:59 pm on March 21, 2021. If you have questions, contact the Financial Aid Office via email at finaid@wou.edu.

We are happy to have you as part of the Wolves family.

Onward together,

Rex Fuller

President

Additionally, Western Oregon University created a separate application and email for students who stopped attending WOU since spring 2020.

Dear Student,

We’re eager to see you return to Western Oregon University and continue your path to graduation.

Similar to last year, the federal CARES Act (now the CRRSAA) has provided universities with monetary assistance to help students who have been financially affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This first round of funding is available for students who withdrew or stopped-out of their programs since Spring 2020.

Here are the requirements:

• • You must have been a degree-seeking student that either withdrew or stopped-out of your program since Spring 2020.
  • You must have a 2019-20FAFSA® file.
  • You must have incurred expenses directly related to disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

An application for the CARES Act (CRRSAA) funding is available here. It must be submitted by 11:59 pm on April 2, 2021. If you have questions, contact the Financial Aid Office via email at finaid@wou.edu.

We are happy to have you as part of the Wolves family.

Onward together,

Kella Helyer, Director of Financial Aid

• To accommodate student needs, WOU emailed all current students to inform that the CRRSAA application deadline was extended until 11:59pm on April 2, 2021. (Sent March 25, 2021)
• WOU created an application for students to apply for funding based on CRRSAA criteria, which included the following: child care, transportation, technology, health care, and incidental education expenses incurred since March 13, 2020; awards were enhanced based on qualifying lost wages or unemployment insurance.
• After scoring applications based on their affirmative answers and magnitude of their losses, lost wages or unemployment and a Pell grant were used as a multiplier to their presumptive scores. Then, those applications were divided into EFC quintiles, at which point applicants were awarded based on the graduated EFC quintiles
• Western Oregon University awarded 1,191 total students with CRRSAA funds, totaling to $2,140,805.
• Student portions of CRRSAA were distributed during Q4 ending June 30, 2021.

On March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) was authorized by Congress. WOU received an additional $12,311,114 in funds for students and the institution. The institution portion of ARP allocated to Western Oregon University is $6,124,544, and $6,186,570 is designated for students. WOU agreed to allocate the $6,186,570 it received for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to WOU students.

Round #1 (Fall Term 2021)

On October 4, 2021, WOU announced the criteria for this round of emergency grants for students.

WOU made efforts to publicize the announcement for student eligibility for this round of HEERF awards, including sending an all-staff email, an email to all current students, and utilizing social media platforms to communicate this information to students. Students had the opportunity to affirmatively decide if they would prefer to have these funds applied directly to an outstanding account balance with WOU or to receive the full award as a direct payment to support any component of the student’s cost of attendance. Students had until October 8, 2021 to opt into applying the award to their revolving charge account; otherwise, funds were issued directly to the students.

Students enrolled in at least 1 credit hour for fall term 2021 (as of census date, October 8, 2021) were eligible to receive a base award of $900 in the form of an emergency grant. This grant requires emphasis of awarding to be placed on those who are Pell Grant eligible students, and therefore WOU allocated enhanced awards of $1,200 to those eligible for the Pell Grant (based on EFC.) Students had the opportunity to affirmatively elect to have their awards applied to their revolving charge accounts or otherwise receive the award as a disbursement in the form of a direct payment. WOU distributed this portion of the American Rescue Plan to students on October 18th, 2021. The total number of students awarded was 3,866, and $3,881,400.00 was distributed in emergency grants to students.

Round #2 (Winter Term 2022)

On December 29, 2021, WOU announced the criteria for this round of emergency grants for students.

WOU made efforts to publicize the announcement for student eligibility for this round of HEERF awards, including sending an all-staff email, an email to all current students, and utilizing social media platforms to communicate this information to students. Students had the opportunity to affirmatively decide if they would prefer to have these funds applied directly to an outstanding account balance with WOU or to receive the full award as a direct payment to support any component of the student’s cost of attendance. Students had  until January 14th, 2022 to opt into applying the award to their revolving charge account; otherwise, funds were issued directly via mailed checks.

Students enrolled in at least 3 credit hours for winter term 2022 (as of census date, January 14th, 2022) were eligible for a base award of $450.00 in the form of an emergency grant. This grant required emphasis of awarding to be placed on those who are Pell Grant eligible students, and therefore WOU allocated enhanced awards of $600 to those eligible for newly eligible the federal Pell Grant, based on EFC. Note: Pell eligible students who received an enhanced award of $1,200.00 in fall term 2021 were only eligible for the base award of $450.00 this round. Enhanced awards were allocated to Pell Grant eligible students who did not receive an enhanced award during the previous round. The enhanced award for eligible students were $600.00 this round. Students had the opportunity to affirmatively elect to have their award applied to their revolving charge accounts or otherwise receive the award in the form of a direct payment via mailed check. WOU distributed this portion of the American Rescue Plan to students on January 18th, 2022. The total number of students awarded was 3,640, and $1,601,700.00 was distributed in emergency grants to students.

Round #3 (Final – Winter Term 2022)

On March 1^st, 2022, WOU announced the final federal funding opportunity for students to request emergency grants from the remaining American Rescue Plan funds for students. WOU made efforts to publicize the announcement for student eligibility for this round of HEERF awards, including sending an all-staff email, an email to all current students, and utilizing social media platforms to communicate this information to students.

Announcement Details:

WOU has a final portion of federal HEERF dollars available to students in the form of emergency grants. As such, it has been decided to distribute these final dollars to students who have remaining unmet need during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have unmet need and would benefit from an emergency grant, we welcome you to complete a brief questionnaire on your Portal! See important details below: Criteria: 3+ credits registered at Winter ‘22 census.  Exclusions: OHSU students, faculty/staff, audit-course students, and students registered for 0-2 credit hours. DISCLAIMER: The remaining portion of federal HEERF funds is limited, therefore this questionnaire is designed to identify current WOU students with remaining unmet need during the pandemic. WOU plans to evaluate questionnaire results and will distribute the last HEERF dollars via emergency grants to students with unmet need. Please note that declaring a dollar amount of unmet need (e.g. $300) on this form does not guarantee you will receive a grant for that amount (e.g. $300). Your response will be considered when WOU evaluates how to distribute the remainder of HEERF funds, which could result in an emergency grant higher or lower than your declared unmet need.

The deadline to complete this questionnaire was March 11th, 2022. Final distributions were completed on March 18th, 2022.

Questionnaire:

• Q: Select an amount that most closely attests your remaining unmet need due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • A: $100; $200; $300; $400; $500; $600; $700; $800; $900; $1,000; $1,100; $1,200.
• Q: Select the component(s) of your Cost of Attendance (COA) with unmet need. Select all that apply.
  • A: Tuition, Fees, Housing, Food, Textbooks, Supplies, Transportation, Miscellaneous/Other.
• Q: If you receive a grant, would you like to apply the funds directly to your Wolf Web account balance?
  • A: Yes or No.

Awarding Methods:

1,222 students requested emergency grants through this survey. There were more dollars requested ($1,132,000) than WOU had remaining in the American Rescue Plan funds for students. Thus, WOU scaled down award amounts to allocate all remaining dollars to students in emergency grants, which was $721,369. The table below summarizes the requests and awarded grants to this group of students. Based on the dollars available, WOU established a grant minimum of $100 and a maximum of $700.

WOU distributed the final portion of the American Rescue Plan to students on March 18th, 2022. The total number of students awarded was 1,222, and $721,369.00 was distributed in emergency grants.