Fort Hays State University announced today its plan to disburse emergency financial aid grants to students under the federal government’s Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

The CARES Act grant program was created to assist students in covering 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.

The university expects to receive $1,262,038 to allocate to students who were impacted by the interruption of campus operations and the transition from on-campus to online instruction.

FHSU plans to conduct a thorough review of currently eligible financial aid students to identify and serve those with the most need first. These students will be contacted directly by the university about the disbursement of their awards.

The university will also create an online application process that other Title IV financial aid eligible students can use to request grant funding.

To be eligible to receive CARES Act funds, FHSU students had to be enrolled in at least one on-campus class at the time of the university’s transition to all-online instruction.

They also must be Title IV eligible, defined as students who are:

• U.S. citizens or eligible noncitizens who hold a valid Social Security number;
• Are registered with Selective Service (if a male);
• And have earned a high school diploma or GED or have completed high school in an approved homeschool setting.