CARES Act Emergency Funds
The U.S. government recently enacted the federal CARES Act to provide money to colleges and universities for emergency student grants. The purpose of the money is to give emergency grants to students for specific expenses that are a direct result of the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus. UNC has signed and returned to the Department of Education the Certification Agreement to assure that we intend to use, no less than 50 percent of the $7,650,214 received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.
The University of Northern Colorado will distribute $3,825,107 in CARES Act funding in a way that prioritizes eligible students with the greatest demonstrated need and ensures that funds are distributed as widely as possible. This pool of funding will be allocated to students through two methods. First, more than two-thirds of the funds, nearly $2.6M, was to be allocated directly to all Title IV-eligible students with the amount of each student’s emergency grant being determined on a sliding scale based on their Expected Family Contribution. (As of January 4, 2021, UNC has made 7,126 CARES refunds for a total of $3,542,646.42). The remaining funds have been made available through an application process to students enrolled in fall 2020 semester with a small amount to be used for spring 2021 students who continue to face significant financial hardship. Title IV eligibility is a requirement to receive CARES Act assistance through the direct allocation or application process, as directed by the Department of Education.
Quarterly Budget and Expenditures Reporting under CARES Act - Institutional Portion
Additional Information
If you have questions about the disbursement of your emergency grant funding, please contact the Bursar's Office at 970-351-4862 (option 3) or bursar@unco.edu.
All other questions may be directs to the Office of Financial Aid at
970-351-4862 (option 1) or ofa@unco.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to frequently asked questions about Cares Act funds.