STUDENT emergency CARES Act Grants
Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Report –
Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students
Updated May 7, 2021
Gary Manuel Aveda Institute (OPE ID: 041494) 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 Elizabeth Noblitt, Director, at [email protected].
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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.
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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 $60,506.00.
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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 $60,506.00.
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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 in May 2021 is 70.
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The total number of students who received an emergency financial aid grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act in May 2021 is 45.
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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.
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Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the emergency financial aid grants are provided at Attachment B.
Attachment A
GMAI believes that every student has suffered hardship due to the pandemic and we are therefore making the choice to evenly distribute these grant funds amongst any eligible student that applies, is eligible for Title IV funding and shows financial need related to the disruption of their education due to coronavirus.
Eligibility
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The student must have been an active student on 4/30/2021. This includes any student that was out on an approved leave of absence with documented intent to return to training at any time during the school closure period.
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Per federal regulations governing the disbursement of these emergency grant funds, any student that receives these funds must be able to demonstrate Title IV
eligibility:
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Title IV eligibility is demonstrated by having a valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file. Those students that would otherwise qualify, but that did not have a valid FAFSA on file as of April 30, 2021are welcome to complete the FAFSA
at: (be careful to ensure that you complete FAFSA for the 2020-21 year) or complete a Statement of Attestation.
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If a student does not meet the Basic Eligibility Criteria for federal student aid, they will not receive the grant.
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The student must complete the Gary Manuel Aveda Institute Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Grant Application and Statement of Attestation (if a FAFSA is not on file) by April 30, 2021.
Methodology and Delivery of Grants
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GMAI has received a total of $60,506 and will be distributing the remaining $17,756 in this round student emergency grant funds. The funds will be given directly by students. According to the grant guidelines, these funds are not to be used towards the student’s balance at the school but instead on unexpected expenses due to the disruption of school, for example, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, or childcare.
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Applications and the process will be posted to the GMAI website and will be texted to students on our internal communication system. Information about the process will also be shared verbally at school meetings.
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In addition, GMAI will post a copy of this policy and procedures document to the website and inform students of its existence. Part of the grant application will include a student acknowledgment that they have read and understand the policies and procedures.
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Grants will be disbursed to students via check.
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A separate bank account from the school’s general account will be established for these funds so that each transaction from the account may be transparently tracked and accounted for. All bank account records will be made available to any auditor or other representative of the Department of Education.
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The funds will be disbursed in one lump sum payment, not in multiple disbursements, in effort to get money to students as soon as possible.
Attachment B
The U.S. Department of Education has provided emergency financial aid grants under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act “CARES Act” to students who need financial support for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to Coronavirus, to include food, housing, healthcare, and childcare.
The Education Secretary has encouraged institutions to prioritize students with the greatest financial need. Gary Manuel Aveda Institute believes that the full extent of one’s financial need related to coronavirus would not be accurately captured if we were to adopt a policy to make that determination based solely on the amount of each student’s estimated family contribution (EFC) from their 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) since the 2019-2020 FAFSA EFC is based on 2017 income and data.
Gary Manuel Aveda Institute believes that as our campus operations were forced to close as of March 17th, 2020, when the Governor of the State of Washington ordered state-wide school closures for all on- site higher education training operations that each of our active students was financially impacted in some way by the school’s complete closure:
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Veterans lost their GI Bill housing allowance payments shortly after the school closure.
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Financial aid recipients lost access to their financial aid disbursements and living allowance stipends.
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Several others lost jobs and/or had children that could no longer attend school.
In addition, after our campus reopened, every student that returns to training will find themselves in the position of having to remain in Seattle, one of the highest costs of living cities in the country, for longer than originally budgeted due to having to make up missed time.
Because GMAI believes that every student has suffered hardship due to the pandemic, we are making the choice to evenly distribute these grant funds amongst any eligible student that applies, is eligible for Title IV funding and shows financial need related to the disruption of their education due to coronavirus.
Eligibility
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The student must have been an active student on 4/30/2021. This includes any student that was out on an approved leave of absence with documented intent to return to training at any time during the school closure period.
-
Per federal regulations governing the disbursement of these emergency grant funds, any student that receives these funds must be able to demonstrate Title IV
eligibility:
-
Title IV eligibility is demonstrated by having a valid Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on file. Those students that would otherwise qualify, but that did not have a valid FAFSA on file as of April 30, 2021 are welcome to complete the FAFSA.
at: (be careful to ensure that you complete FAFSA for the 2020/2021 year) or complete a Statement of Attestation.
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If a student does not meet the Basic Eligibility Criteria for federal student aid, they will not receive the grant.
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The student must complete the Gary Manuel Aveda Institute Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Student Grant Application and Statement of Attestation (if a FAFSA is not on file) by the stated deadline.
Methodology and Delivery of Grants
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GMAI has received a total of $60,506 and will be distributing the remaining $17,756 in this round student emergency grant funds. The funds will be given directly by students. According to the grant guidelines, these funds are not to be used towards the student’s balance at the school but instead on unexpected expenses due to the disruption of school, for example, food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, or childcare.
-
Applications and the process will be posted to the GMAI website and will be texted to students on our internal communication system. Information about the process will also be shared verbally at school meetings.
-
In addition, GMAI will post a copy of this policy and procedures document to the website and inform students of its existence. Part of the grant application will include a student acknowledgment that they have read and understand the policies and procedures.
-
Grants will be disbursed to students via check.
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A separate bank account from the school’s general account will be established for these funds so that each transaction from the account may be transparently tracked and accounted for. All bank account records will be made available to any auditor or other representative of the Department of Education.
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The funds will be disbursed in one lump sum payment, not in multiple disbursements, in effort to get money out to students as soon as possible.
Funds will be divided evenly between the total number of eligible grant applicants, with the maximum award amount being no more than $2,000 per person. The amount that each student will receive ultimately depends on the total number of eligible grant applications received by the stated deadline. For example, if we receive 100 eligible applications, each eligible student will receive a total of $605.05.
Any questions about the grant program can be sent to [email protected].
Click here for GMAI Student Grant Application & Attestation. Applications are due by April 30, 2021.
GMAI also received an additional total of $60,505 in institutional grant funds, where the money is directed to be spent on covering any institutional costs associated with having to make significant changes to the delivery of instruction due to coronavirus. GMAI will use these funds in several ways:
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To increase our training and equipment to better deliver online education options;
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Reimbursement for refunds that were made to students who had to drop from GMAI due to the pandemic;
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For acquiring sufficient personal protective equipment and supplies that we will provide to all staff and students so that we may resume (as soon as possible) and maintain in-person training operations which are critical to the completion of our programs;
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Any money that is leftover after eligible institutional coronavirus related expenses have been covered, will be repurposed into additional student emergency grant funds, which will be evenly distributed amongst the same eligible applicants that received funding from the student portion of the grant. NOTE: these additional funds will not be paid out to any student that has withdrawn from GMAI.
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GMAI has until 05/13/2021 to utilize both the student and institutional grant funds.
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