Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Report –

Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students

October 6, 2020

JNA Institute of Culinary Arts  (OPE ID: 031033) 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 Nicole DiGironimo PhD at n.digironimo@culinaryarts.edu

1.      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.

2.      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 $59,206.

3.      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:

Food Service Training Diploma Program: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

4.      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, as of the date of this Fund Report is:

Food Service Training Diploma Program: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

5.      The total number of students who have received an emergency financial aid grant under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of the date of this Fund Report is:

Food Service Training Diploma Program: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

Associate of Specialized Technology in Culinary Arts / Restaurant Management: This information is suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99).

6.      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.

7.      Any instructions, directions, or guidance provided by the institution to students concerning the emergency financial aid grants are provided at Attachment B.

 

Attachment A

Based on guidance from the U.S. Department of Education issued on April 21, 2020, to receive HEERF-student emergency grant funds, students must be eligible to receive Title IV federal financial aid (e.g., Pell Grant, Direct Loans, etc.) and have incurred additional expenses due to campus disruptions due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, such as food, housing, technology, course materials, health care, and childcare.

In order to establish a student’s eligibility for HEERF funding, students were required to demonstrate their eligibility for Title IV federal student aid. To do so, the JNA Institute of Culinary Arts required student to complete a FAFSA application and meet the other related student eligibility requirements. Addtionally, to be eligible for HEERF funding students were required to be active students enrolled more than half time. To date, funds were issued using two dates of importance: March 13, 2020 and April 6, 2020. 

JNA Institute of Culinary Arts used the following criteria to identify the cohort of eligible students: 1) an active student who was enrolled full-time on campus as of March 13, 2020, the date the COVID-19 national emergency was declared 2) a student with established eligibility for Title IV funds who has a valid ISIR with an official EFC on file with the institution and who was eligible for a Pell grant, and 3) a student who has returned a complete Student Attestation Form. JNA Institute of Culinary Arts determined a subsequent disbursements to all full-time students who were active or on a approved COVID-related Leave of Absense during the term beginning on April 6, 2020.

To determine how much money each eligible student would receive, the institution utilized data from the 2020 Cost of Living Survey that was completed by the students in late February 2020. This survey is used for financial aid purposes each year and it identifies the average monthly “room and board ,”  “personal ,” and “transportation ” costs for students. This data is also separated into two groups: students who live “with parents/guardians” and “not with parents/guardians.” Exact details are suppressed to comply with, and protect the personally identifiable information from student education records, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99). Each eligible student can request a breakdown of how their grant was calculated by speaking with Nicole DiGironimo PhD at n.digironimo@culinaryarts.edu

The only change to future disbursements will involve the prioritizing of need, to ensure students with the highest need are paid first, acknowledging the fact that the Grant will eventually run out. If future guidance from the Department indicates that any funds remaining must be distributed immediately (prior to the aforementioned one year disbursement period) the institution will distribute the funds to all eligible students based on financial need, enrollment status, and previously mentioned calculation methods.

 

Attachment B

To be eligible to receive the grant, students were required to read and sign an online form that included the following guidance:

Student Guidance & Attestation
As written in the Secretary of Education Letter to College & University Presidents dated April 9, 2020: "The only statutory requirement is that the funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student's cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, healthcare, and childcare)." For example, because of the switch to online courses, a student may have incurred expenses to purchase a web camera, printer, computer software, or faster internet service.

By signing below, you attest that you have experienced expenses associated with the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and childcare in excess of the amount of the grant noted above. By signing below, you confirm that you understand that these funds are intended to be used to pay these expenses. You also understand that this is a one-time grant that does not need to be repaid.

If you are not financially responsible for the types of expenses identified above, or you have not experienced additional costs due to the disruption of normal campus operations, please do not sign this Attestation, and instead, contact Nicole DiGironimo to discuss.

Please include a current mailing address below the signature line. It is to this address that JNA will send your emergency grant check.

A form to assit in completion can be found here

Students were also provided this link to further educate themselves: https://www.nasfaa.org/covid19_heerf

 



[1] See: https://ifap.ed.gov/electronic-announcements/050620HigherEdEmergencyReliefFundRptg