Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Report –
Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students
October 6, 2020
JNA Institute of Culinary Arts (OPE ID:
031033)
received education stabilization funds under Section 18004(a)(1) of the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), Public Law No:
116-136. This Fund Report applies to the student portion received under the
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund that is designated exclusively for
emergency financial aid grants to students.
The institution appreciates that Congress and the President have made these
critical funds available for eligible students who have expenses related to the
disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic. We take receipt
of these federal funds seriously and are distributing them in accordance with
the CARES Act and implementing guidance.
The institution is making the below information available for transparency
purposes and in compliance with the U.S. Department of Education’s
(“Department”) Electronic Announcement of May 6, 2020.[1]
For questions or concerns regarding this Fund Report, please contact Nicole
DiGironimo PhD at n.digironimo@culinaryarts.edu
1.
The institution signed and returned
to the Department the
Certification and Agreement
[for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students. The institution has 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.
2.
The total amount of funds that the institution will receive or has received from
the Department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for]
Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students is $59,206.
3.
The total amount of emergency financial aid grants distributed to students under
Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of this Fund Report is:
Food Service Training Diploma Program:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
4.
The estimated total number of students at the institution eligible to
participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education
Act of 1965, and thus eligible to receive emergency financial aid grants under
Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act, as of the date of this Fund Report is:
Food Service Training Diploma Program:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
5.
The total number of students who have received an emergency financial aid grant
under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of this Fund Report
is:
Food Service Training Diploma Program:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management:
This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally
identifiable information from student education records, under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).
6.
The methods used by the institution to determine which students receive
emergency financial aid grants and how much they would receive under Section
18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act are provided at Attachment A.
7.
Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to
students concerning the emergency financial aid grants are provided at
Attachment B.
Attachment A
Based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education issued on April 21,
2020, to receive HEERF-student emergency grant funds, students must be eligible
to receive Title IV federal financial aid (e.g., Pell Grant, Direct Loans, etc.)
and have incurred additional expenses due to campus disruptions due to the
COVID-19 global pandemic, such as food, housing, technology, course materials,
health care, and childcare.
In order to establish a student’s eligibility for HEERF funding, students were
required to demonstrate their eligibility for Title IV federal student aid. To
do so, the JNA Institute of Culinary Arts required student to complete a FAFSA
application and meet the other related student eligibility requirements.
Addtionally, to be eligible for HEERF funding students were required to be
active students enrolled more than half time. To date, funds were issued using
two dates of importance: March 13, 2020 and April 6, 2020.
JNA Institute of Culinary Arts used the following criteria to identify the
cohort of eligible students: 1) an active student who was enrolled full-time on
campus as of March 13, 2020, the date the COVID-19 national emergency was
declared 2) a student with established eligibility for Title IV funds who has a
valid ISIR with an official EFC on file with the institution and who was
eligible for a Pell grant, and 3) a student who has returned a complete Student
Attestation Form. JNA Institute of Culinary Arts determined a subsequent
disbursements to all full-time students who were active or on a approved
COVID-related Leave of Absense during the term beginning on April 6, 2020.
To determine how much money each eligible student would receive, the institution
utilized data from the 2020 Cost of Living Survey that was completed by the
students in late February 2020. This survey is used for financial aid purposes
each year and it identifies the average monthly “room and board ,”
“personal ,” and “transportation ” costs for students. This data is also
separated into two groups: students who live “with parents/guardians” and “not
with parents/guardians.” Exact details are suppressed to comply with, and
protect the personally identifiable information from student education records,
under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR
Part 99). Each eligible student can request a breakdown of how their grant was
calculated by speaking with
Nicole DiGironimo PhD at
n.digironimo@culinaryarts.edu
The only change to future disbursements will involve the prioritizing of need,
to ensure students with the highest need are paid first, acknowledging the fact
that the Grant will eventually run out. If future guidance from the Department
indicates that any funds remaining must be distributed immediately (prior to the
aforementioned one year disbursement period) the institution will distribute the
funds to all eligible students based on financial need, enrollment status, and
previously mentioned calculation methods.
Attachment B
To be eligible to receive the grant, students were required to read and sign an
online form that included the following guidance:
Student Guidance & Attestation
As written in the Secretary of Education Letter to College & University
Presidents dated April 9, 2020: "The only statutory requirement is that the
funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations
due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student's cost of
attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare, and
childcare)." For example, because of the switch to online courses, a student may
have incurred expenses to purchase a web camera, printer, computer software, or
faster internet service.
By signing below, you attest that you have experienced expenses associated with
the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19, such as food, housing,
course materials, technology, health care, and childcare in excess of the amount
of the grant noted above. By signing below, you confirm that you understand that
these funds are intended to be used to pay these expenses. You also understand
that this is a one-time grant that does not need to be repaid.
If you are not financially responsible for the types of expenses identified
above, or you have not experienced additional costs due to the disruption of
normal campus operations, please do not sign this Attestation, and instead,
contact Nicole DiGironimo to discuss.
Please include a current mailing address below the signature line. It is to this
address that JNA will send your emergency grant check.
A form to assit in completion can be found here
Students were also provided this link to further educate themselves:
https://www.nasfaa.org/covid19_heerf