CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund

The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-IHE/Student Aid provides funding to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to students whose lives have been disrupted, many of whom are facing financial challenges and struggling to make ends meet.

Request CARES Act Funds Assistance

Students, the Emergency Fund is available to help you pay for educational expenses due to disruption of on campus instruction due to COVID-19. You can request advanced funding or reimbursement for purchases of educationally related materials. These include items such as: technology purchases necessary to participate in online courses, purchases of books or materials that students were previously accessing on campus, and unexpected childcare costs. As of December 31, 2022, all funds under the CARES Act Student Emergency Assistance Fund have been distributed.

CARES Act Reporting

Per federal guidelines, BHCC is posting its expenditure report for the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Updated expenditure reports will be posted on a quarterly basis.

Bunker Hill Community College's Implementation of CARES Act Funds

  1. BHCC signed and returned the Certification and Agreement on April 10, 2020.
  2. The total amount of funds initially provided to student is $4.1 million. BHCC was approved for an additional $4.1 million in funding from CRRSAA (HEERF II) and $15.9 million in funding from ARP (HEERF III). $24.1 million total funding for students.
    • As of May 12, 2020 we have disbursed $2,301,075 in block grants to eligible students and $56,392 in emergency funds via application.
    • As of June 1, 2020 we have disbursed $2,848,495; $2,302,515 in block grants and $545,980 in emergency funds.
    • As of June 15, 2020 we have disbursed $3,152,347 in CARES Act funding. We have disbursed $849,832 in Emergency funding to 758 students and $2,302,515 in block grant funding to 5,825 students.
    • As of July 1, 2020 we have disbursed $3,191,699 in CARES Act funding. We have disbursed $889,184 to 796 students and $2,302,515 in block grant funding to 5,825 students.
    • As of August 7, 2020, we have disbursed $3,257,305; with $2,302,515 going to 5,825 students in the form of block grant and 954,790 going to 842 students in the form of the Emergency fund.
    • As of September 9, 2020, we have disbursed $3,328,398 in CARES Act funding; with $2,302,515 going to 5,825 students in the form of block grant and $1,025,883 in the form of emergency fund going to 918 students.
    • As of November 3, 2020, we have disbursed $3,625,998 in CARES Act funding; with $2,302,515 going to 5825 students in the form of block grant and $1,323,483 in the form of emergency grant going to 1119 students.
    • As of December 7, 2020 BHCC's full CARES Act allocation of $4,155,153 has been spent; with $2,245,260 in block grant going to 5,674 students and $1909,893 in emergency grant going to 1,435 students. The average emergency grant award was $1,331. The downward adjustment in block grant funding was due to returned or uncashed refund checks. These funds were reallocated and awarded through the CARES Act emergency grant program.
    • As of March 31, 2021 we have disbursed $6,146,615 in CARES Act/HEERF funding; with $4,018,760 in block grants to 7621 eligible students, $2,073,693 in emergency funds going to 1416 students, and $54,216 in tuition and fees to 39 students .
    • As of June 30, 2021 we have disbursed $11,067,254 in CARES Act/HEERF funding; with $4,318,523 in block grants to 7733 eligible students, $6,558,582 in emergency funds going to 2227 students, and $190,148 in tuition and fees to 138 students.
    • As of September 30, 2021 we have disbursed $13,256,928 in CARES Act/HEERF funding; with $5,679,618 in block grants to  9135 eligible students, $7,372,146 in emergency funds going to 2332 students, and $205,163 in tuition and fees to 149 students.
    • As of December 31, 2021 we have disbursed $16,759,176 in CARES Act/HEERF funding; with $5,679,618 in block grants to  9135 eligible students, $10,616,488 in emergency funds going to 2910 students, and $205,163 in tuition and fees to 282 students.
    • As of March 31, 2022 we have disbursed $21,824,658 in CARES Act/HEERF funding; with $7,295,315 in block grants to  9716 eligible students, $13852619 in emergency funds going to 3490 students, and $676,724 in tuition and fees to 411 students.
  3. We have currently identified 10799 that are eligible to received funding under the CARES Act.
  4. As of June 30, 2022 10,799 have received funding through CARES Act programs.
  5. In order to be eligible, a student must have a valid 2019-2020 FAFSA on file and all paperwork (with the exception of tax forms or a verification worksheet) complete. The student must have been enrolled in at least one on campus course during the Spring semester and be meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress requirements or have an approved appeal on file for 2019-2020.
    For Block Grants:
    All students received a base award of $235. This amount was calculated based on the average expense of having high speed internet connection in the home in the Greater Boston area over the 3 months of semester impacted by Covid-19. The base amount was increased by $10 per enrolled credit as a refund of the technology fee which makes up a portion of the normal fees charged to students, as there was a disruption of access to on campus technology. Student registered for 6-11 credits received an additional $50 and students registered for 12 credits or more received an additional $100 to cover incidental charges, such as cellphone data charges and small software (applications, antivirus software, etc...) to make personal technology more usable and unexpected travel charges due to on campus disruption. Students reported as having received services through Single Stop received an additional $50 due to temporary disruption in services.
    For Emergency Fund Applications:
    Student award amounts are based on student requests via their application. Students submitting requests for significant amounts may be asked to document their expenses. Students submitting requests that include funds for lost wages, heating or electric bills, rent, or other items not related to the disruption of on campus study may have their amount reduced or denied, as these expenses were not impacted by the switch to online study.
  6. The Emergency Fund is to help students pay for educational expenses due to disruption of on campus instruction due to COVID-19. The Emergency Fund Application is online at CARES Act application (Second Round) https://bunkerhillcc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_40VHZs86GuGbV8G Students will need to provide their BHCC ID number, name, and dollar amounts for reimbursement for purchases of educationally related materials. These include items such as: technology purchases necessary to participate in online courses, purchases of books or materials that students were previously accessing on campus, and unexpected childcare costs for students that report having dependents on their FAFSA. Some students may be asked for documentation based on their requests.