While the U.S. Department of Education (ED) develops a process for institutions to directly provide the required reporting data, it has in the meantime called for institutions to make easily accessible to the public — via the institution's website — the following items:
On April 10, 2020, Dr. Richard Rhodes, ACC president/CEO, signed and submitted to the Department of Education (DOE) the Certification and Agreement for a formula grant under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ACT Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (CARES HEERF). ACC intends to use these funds for emergency aid to students. In compliance with DOE mandate that 50% of total ACC CARES HEERF funds awarded go directly to student aid. ACC was awarded $13,907,000, of which $6,953,900 (50% of total award) has been earmarked for student aid.
ACC has received $6,953,900 to be used for CARES Act Student Aid.
(b) The total amount distributed between October 10 and January 10, the fifth and final
reporting period:$707,201.09
The CARES Aid application and disbursements were paused on November 20, and the online application was removed from the site. At this date, the funds were nearly exhausted. An email was sent out to additional eligible students to apply for the funds to ensure the account was not overdrawn. By January 7, 2021, the CARES funds balance was at $0.0.
Email sent to eligible students:
Hello @FIRST.NAME ,
Austin Community College has emergency grant aid available through the CARES Act, but funds are almost exhausted. If you have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID19, we urge you to complete the CARES application below as soon as possible.
Austin Community College
Financial Aid Office
512-223-4636
**Please do not reply directly to this
11,301 students (this excludes students enrolled in online courses and suspended SAP)
6,611students total have received an emergency financial aid grant from the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Fund as of January 10, 2021.
Austin Community College convened a committee with membership from the president’s cabinet, the business office, the financial aid office, the ACC foundation office, student affairs communication, ACC marketing, student support advocates, and enrollment management. The following brief was developed:
Overview: On April 20, 2020, ACC received $6,953,900 from the Department of Education as part of the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. ACC will distribute these emergency funds to students who have experienced or are faced with disruptions of education due to COVID-19. The coronavirus has negatively impacted the health and wellness of ACC students and their families, as well as the regional economy. ACC is keenly aware that the COVID-19 impact has exacerbated pre-existing systemic inequalities and has affected Central Texas’s marginalized communities more deeply than others. In a coordinated effort, ACC will swiftly distribute funds in such a way that it empowers students to use them for their greatest priorities, such as food, housing, health care, child care, learning materials, and more. With the distribution of funding, students will have access to ACC’s full social support resources.
Student Eligibility:
Application:
Below, is an example of the CARES Act Student Aid design used across multiple web and social media channels to build awareness of and promote access to the CARES Act funds for students.
Date |
Type |
Description |
Link |
---|---|---|---|
7/27/2020 |
Newsletter |
Student Affairs Newsletter: Mention of CARES Act Funding - Applying for CARES |
Student Affairs Newsletter: Return to Campus Plan, Meet the Academic Coaches, College Closed July 3rd. |
8/28/2020 |
|
Fall 2020 - Welcome Message - Brief mention of CARES Student Aid under the Remote Services Portion. |
Welcome Riverbats!! Stay Safe, Adapt & Stand Strong |
10/17/2020 |
Newsletter |
Student Affairs Newsletter: CARES Act Student Aid Open announcement |
Student Affairs Newsletter: Career Ready Week, ACC Cares Funds, Enneagram Workshop, Zoom a Librarian & more |
4/30/2020 |
Social Media |
Times are tough, but ACC is here to help you stay on track. The ACC CARES Act Student Aid is now available. Current and new students who have been affected by COVID-19 can apply for financial support. Click here to start: www.austincc.edu/caresaid #ACC4Everyone |
Facebook: 2,690 impressions, 75 engagements 1,121 reach, 51 engagements 4,425 impressions, 45 reactions |
How they found it: Search Query top 10:
The prevalence of the term "CARES" in searches shows that users were familiar with the term and connected it with ACC in their searches.
Traffic:
4,302 pageviews for the period shows a major decline in overall traffic to the ACC CARES Act main webpage.
In comparative view against the previous period (August 19, 2020 - October 9, 2020) there are no significant spikes in web traffic.
The Office of Communications & Marketing generated targeted media awareness to elevate this news in the community with coverage airing and publishing across multiple media outlets. Within the first 24 hours of announcing applications open, ACC generated eight different media reports. Through external efforts, the reach of information hit more than 2 million people in the community.
Sent:
Media Coverage
April 16:
April 30:
May 1:
July 20:
July 17:
In May 2020, Austin Community College District received $6,953,100 in CARES Act Institutional Funding to assist with the transition from in-person to online courses, and as of January 8, 2021 $4,397,982 has been spent leaving a balance of $2,555,118. The College has used the funds to procure tablets, notebook computers, a (COVID-19) health screening app, instructional software and supplies.