7/27/20 – OHCC Student CARES Act News Update
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. Institutions have the responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students, how the amount of each student grant is calculated, and the development of any instructions or directions that are provided to students about the grant.
The CARES Act provides institutions significant discretion on how to award this emergency assistance to students. This means that each institution may develop its own system and process for determining how to allocate these funds, which may include distributing the funds to all students or only to students who demonstrate significant need. 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, health care, and child care).
Oak Hills Christian College signed and returned the CARES Act Certification and Agreement on April 15, 2020 and 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.
The 50% that is to be disbursed directly to students totals $55,660. This amount was made available for the Business Office to begin requesting funds on May 6th, 2020. The total grant Oak Hills Christian College is eligible to receive is $111,320.00. The application for the Institutional Portion was processed in May and the funds were received June 8th, 2020. The Institutional Portion of the grants is to be used to upgrade technology on the Oak Hills Campus.
The COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Committee met for the first time on May 6, 2020. The committee discussed how all 59 traditional program students have been impacted financially, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually in the past, present, or will be in the near future by the disruption of on campus operations. The committee agreed to take a portion of the grant to assist all enrolled Spring 2020 students eligible for Federal Aid by allocating $500 per student. (59 students x $500 = $29,500) These allocations were processed from May 7-14, 2020
The remaining $26,160.00 is to be used for students who have incurred expenses totaling more than $500.00. So, students who have incurred more than $500 in expenses have been encouraged to submit the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Application that was emailed to each Spring 2020 student with instructions on how to complete and submit the form.
As of July 27, 2020, 10 students have submitted additional expenses. Total additional expenses approved is $ 2352.52. Total disbursements to students equals $31,852.52.
6/5/20 – Oak Hills Christian College plans to open campus for the Fall 2020 Semester
We are committed to reopening campus this fall and providing face-to-face instruction for our students. We desire to carry out our mission of educating students to think and live biblically, preparing them to effectively serve Christ. For the present, this means dedicating our resources to planning for the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff.
Classes and student life experiences may look a bit different as we begin this fall, but our entire society in general will be different as a result of COVID-19. We intend to provide each student with a rich educational experience and are now putting safety procedures in place to keep students, faculty and staff healthy. We are building flexibility into our planning that will allow faculty and students to switch from in-person classes to remote and online learning at any point if needed.
Oak Hills Christian College is unique with its 180 acre campus, versatile classroom spacing, and readily available Student Success team offering assistance to all students. The safety and health (physical, mental, and spiritual) of every student is a priority. We take seriously the responsibility of caring for each student God brings to our campus.
There are many questions right now which will be answered more fully as new information is always being considered. The College Leadership Team will be working out the details throughout the next weeks, but be assured that the mission of Oak Hills Christian College will continue. We are all eager to welcome our students, new and current, to campus this fall.
5/19/20 – OHCC Student CARES Act News
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. Institutions have the responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students, how the amount of each student grant is calculated, and the development of any instructions or directions that are provided to students about the grant.
The CARES Act provides institutions significant discretion on how to award this emergency assistance to students. This means that each institution may develop its own system and process for determining how to allocate these funds, which may include distributing the funds to all students or only to students who demonstrate significant need. 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, health care, and child care).
Oak Hills Christian College has signed and returned the CARES Act Certification and Agreement on April 15, 2020 and 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.
The 50% that is to be disbursed directly to students totals $55,660. This amount was made available for the Business Office to begin requesting funds on May 6th. The total grant Oak Hills Christian College is eligible to receive is $111,320.00. The application for the Institutional Portion is in process. The Institutional Portion of the grants is to be used to upgrade technology on the Oak Hills Campus.
The COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Committee met for the first time on May 6, 2020. The committee discussed how all traditional program students have been impacted financially, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually in the past, present, or will be in the near future by the disruption of on campus operations. The committee agreed to take a portion of the grant to assist all enrolled Spring 2020 students eligible for Federal Aid by allocating $500 per student.
Students who have incurred more than $500 in expenses have been encouraged to submit the COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Application that was emailed to each Spring 2020 student with instructions on how to complete and submit the form.
This impacts 59 students for a total of $29,500.00. These allocations were processed from May 7-14, 2020. The remaining $26,160.00 is to be used for students who have incurred expenses totaling more than $500.00. As of May 18, 7 students have submitted additional expenses. Total additional expenses approved is $ 795.78. (2 applications pending)
4/23/2020
3/26/2020
In response to the Minnesota Governor’s announced ‘Stay at Home Executive Order’ all face to face on-campus classes will be discontinued as of Friday, 3/27 through the remainder of the semester. Students will complete their semester through online or video-conferencing. Instructors will seek to maintain individual contact with students by phone, email, or video-conference, as will our student success team.