BATTLE CREEK, MI (WTVB) – Kellogg Community College says it is in the process of distributing nearly $1 million to students who have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, KCC received approximately $1 million to provide emergency grants to students who incurred unforeseen emergency expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to Covid-19.
Eligible expenses include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care.
“Many KCC students have felt the pain of the pandemic and economic recession, which is why it was so important for the College to process federal stimulus funds and get them into the bank accounts of our students as quickly as we could,” said Dr. Adrien Bennings, President of KCC.
In order to be eligible to be considered to receive funds, KCC students:
Must have been a degree or certificate seeking student enrolled in the Spring 2020 semester
Must be eligible to receive Title IV aid
Must have submitted a 2019-2020 FAFSA or be eligible to submit a 2019-20 FAFSA
Must currently be meeting satisfactory academic progress (SAP) requirements for financial aid as of
March 23, 2020, the date KCC converted all eligible Spring 2020 courses to online-only format
Must have been enrolled in at least one originally scheduled face to face course at KCC as of March 23, 2020
Must not have been enrolled in a fully online program as of March 13, 2020
Must have incurred financial need or hardship due to COVID-19 related campus disruption
In accordance with Department of Education guidelines, KCC is distributing CARES Act emergency grant funding to eligible students in three ways:
Direct awards of up to $500 per student were disbursed to students meeting the eligibility criteria.
Awards are pro-rated based upon the student’s enrollment level as of March 23, 2020. Students in this group do not need to request or apply for these funds. Notifications of awards were sent to students via their KCC email in May.
Limited CARES Act funds have been set aside for eligible students who were enrolled in Spring 2020 but who have not filed a FAFSA form to access through a self-certification process. Students in this group must be eligible to file a FAFSA to be considered for funding.
Notifications of eligibility were sent to students via their KCC email accounts during the week of May 29, 2020, with instructions on how to access and submit the self-certification application. Students in this category will be eligible to receive up to $400. Awards will be pro-rated based upon the student’s enrollment level as of March 23, 2020. Applications must be submitted by July 1 to be considered.
KCC has made available a Hardship Grant application for students who experienced COVID-19 disruption-related expenses that were not met through the aforementioned options. Funding will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and available until the College’s remaining grant funds are exhausted.
Applications will be open to all students meeting the eligibility criteria and must be submitted by July 1. Factors such as job loss, child care, medical expenses, housing or food insecurity, an inability to pay for educational supplies, technology or expenses will be considered. The grant application form is located within students’ Bruin Portal online.
KCC’s five campuses remain closed to the public until June 29.
