Fall 2020 > FAQs > CARES Act

CARES Act

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act includes a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). The fund provides $7.1 million to help DePaul students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19.

A CARES Act emergency fund application was made available to eligible students. Because funding was limited, eligible students were encouraged to apply as soon as they received the email application. 

The university sent applications to students that met the Department of Education's initial funding eligibility requirements. According to the Department of Education, students were eligible to apply for a grant if they had completed a FAFSA and were enrolled in what were intended to be face-to-face classes as of March 13, 2020.

​The Department of Education announced that students who were already enrolled in online-only programs or are not eligible for Title IV aid​ (federal student financial aid) are not eligible for CARES grants.

Yes, DePaul was required to document that you had a COVID-19 expense. If you were eligible, you would have received an email with a link to the two-question online application form. This form was to be completed and submitted by June 15, 2020. The email was sent by Educational Computing Services, Inc. (ECSI), our third-party servicer. For the purpose of contacting you, DePaul shared your preferred email address on Campus Connect with ECSI.

A processed FAFSA application for 2019-2020 year was required no later than June 15, 2020 to be considered.

Yes, to receive funding you must have met federal eligibility requirements, which begins with the FAFSA application. To expedite your consideration for these funds, please make sure you don't have outstanding financial aid related items on your To Do List in Campus Connect that would prevent your consideration to receive these limited funds.

Yes, the Department of Education requirements state that you must meet federal eligibility requirements in order to receive the grant, including meeting SAP.​

This application is for COVID-related expenses incurred as a result of the campus closure on or after March 13 through. Expenses could include food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child-care, and other expenses as a result of classes needing to be moved off campus.​

Funding is limited. Requests will be considered until the funding has been exhausted.​ 

Applications were reviewed through June 15, 2020. 

Students who complete the CARES application and the ECSI RefundSelect enrollment, received an initial grant of $500.​

A notification will be sent to your preferred email address from our vendor ECSI.​​

Funds will be disbursed after eligible students provide disbursement information to ECSI, the university’s third-party refund disbursement provider. Please note we are restricted from applying these funds to your student account to pay against outstanding or future tuition and related charges. Funds will be sent directly to you.

Any federal funds issued as COVID-19 emergency relief will not count towards financial aid. ​

Emergency financial aid grants under the CARES Act for unexpected expenses, unmet financial need or expenses related to the disruption of campus operations on account of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as unexpected expenses for food, housing, course materials, technology, and health care or child-care, are qualified disaster relief payments under section 139 of the Internal Revenue Code. This grant is not includible in your gross income, according to the IRS.​

​If you have more questions, please contact DePaul Central at dpcl@depaul.edu or (312) 362-8610.

Submit a question

If you can’t find an answer that you’re looking for, submit a question to our COVID-19 response team.

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