A Resource for Students in Difficult Times

These are difficult times for everyone, especially our students. We are committed to supporting our students and continuing to meet them where they are—wherever that might be.

HEERF CARES Act Funds

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 included additional COVID-19 relief through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act. This new COVID stimulus bill included $23 billion for higher education institutions and students who have experienced financial hardship due to the COVID pandemic. The new act requires that institutions spend at least the same dollar amount on student grants as they were required to spend under the CARES Act. In addition, the allowable uses of funds are more flexible than in the CARES Act.

Any student currently enrolled in an academic degree program at California College of the Arts or who was enrolled on in an academic degree program on or after March 13, 2020, can apply for emergency assistance through our HEERF CARES Act Fund request.

HEERF CARES Act Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for funding, students must meet the following criteria:

• A currently enrolled student or a prior student enrolled in Spring 2020 (as of March 13, 2020), Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021 or Fall 2021.
• US citizen or eligible non citizen
• DACA and International students are now able to apply for these funds as of May 11, 2021.
• Able to provide documentation on how you/your family has been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic on or after December 27, 2020.
• Unlike the prior CARES Act, students now have two options when requesting these funds: #1) you have the option to have these funds applied directly to your bill, or #2) you have the option to have the funds refunded directly to you. 

Examples of student needs:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Technology/equipment needed to ensure continuity of online learning
• Travel expenses
• Housing and living expenses
• Food insecurity
• Tuition/fees
• Childcare
• Other financial needs arising from individual and/or special circumstances to be determined on a case-by-case basis

Additional Items to Note

• Funds awarded do not need to be repaid and cannot directly be used to pay off prior balances owed to the school; however, there may be tax reporting requirements on these funds.
• Due to the fact that limited funding is available, not all requests will be approved. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be responded to via email within 7-10 business days with our first review starting February 15, 2021.
• The HEERF CARES Act Funds Request is intended to assist eligible students with emergency expenses that are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each request and its supporting documentation will be reviewed on a case by case basis with no amounts to exceed $3,000, unless under special circumstances. Please note, a submission for request of funds does not guarantee an approval.

Applying for Funding

• Please click here to submit your request for emergency financial assistance.

CARES Act Emergency Funds (inactive as of February 2021)

Pursuant to our institutions Certification and Agreement of the CARES Act, CCA intends to use 50% of the funding for Emergency Financial Aid grants issued directly to our students. CCA has received a total of $1,397,586 from the CARES Act fund as of April 28, 2020, of which, CCA will distribute $698,793 in Emergency Financial Aid grants to financial aid eligible students between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years. Our records indicate we have 745 students who may be eligible to apply for these funds for the 2019-20 academic year and 786 students who may be eligible to apply for these funds for the 2020-21 academic year.

If you are currently enrolled in an academic degree program at California College of the Arts and you are eligible for federal financial aid, then you are eligible to apply for emergency assistance through our CARES Act Fund request.

Eligibility Criteria

To qualify for funding, students must meet the following criteria:

• Federal guidelines state that students must be eligible for federal financial aid and have completed a FAFSA for the 2019-2020 or 2020-2021 award year. (If you have not completed a FAFSA, you can still do so for either those academic years). Unfortunately, DACA and international students are not eligible for the CARES Act funds due to the federal rules governing the program.
• Currently enrolled as a degree-seeking full-time or part-time Undergraduate or Graduate student at California College of the Arts; Incoming 2020-21 students can now begin to submit their CARES Act request, however, if approved, those funds will not disburse until the fall semester begins in early September 2020.
• Experiencing unexpected financial hardship resulting from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on or after March 11, 2020.

Examples of student needs:

• Emergency medical expenses
• Technology/equipment needed to ensure continuity of online learning
• Travel expenses
• Housing and living expenses
• Food insecurity
• Other financial needs arising from individual and/or special circumstances to be determined on a case-by-case basis

Additional Items to Note

• Funds awarded do not need to be repaid and cannot directly be used to pay off prior balances owed to the school; however, there may be tax reporting requirements on these funds.
• Emergency funding is reserved for students who have exhausted other available financial aid options. 
• Due to the fact that limited funding is available, not all requests will be approved. Requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be responded to via email within 7-10 business days.

Applying for Funding

• Please click here to submit your request for emergency financial assistance.