May 18, 2020
Dear students,
DePaul soon will begin accepting applications for grants from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. The fund provides $7.1 million to help DePaul students with expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19.
According to the Department of Education, students are eligible to apply if they have completed a FAFSA, were enrolled in what were intended to be face-to-face classes on March 13, 2020, and were Title IV aid eligible as of March 13, 2020.
In the coming weeks, eligible students will receive another email that will contain a link to the CARES emergency fund application. This is a simple two-question application. After we receive completed applications, those students will receive an email from Educational Computer Systems, Inc., or ECSI, a third-party vendor who is working with DePaul to disburse the CARES Act funds. ECSI will use the preferred email address students have designated on Campus Connect. If you need to update your email address, phone or mailing address, please do so as soon as possible.
If you receive the application: Please complete it as soon as possible and before the June 15, 2020 deadline. As of today, DePaul has not received CARES Act funds from the Department of Education. When the funding arrives, eligible students who complete applications will receive a grant of $500. It will be disbursed on a first come, first served basis. After you receive the email, please don’t delay in submitting the required information to receive your funds.
If you have not completed a FAFSA: First, check the criteria for FAFSA eligibility on the
Federal Student Aid website. If you are eligible, complete the FAFSA as soon as possible at
https://studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa. DePaul will receive notification when your FAFSA has been completed and you will receive an email with the application for the CARES Act grant. Both the FAFSA and CARES grant applications must be completed before June 15, 2020 for you to receive CARES funding.
For answers to more questions, please visit the
CARES Act FAQs on the COVID-19 website or contact DePaul Central at
dpcl@depaul.edu or (312) 362-8610.
Sincerely,
A. Gabriel Esteban, Ph.D.
President
Eugene L. Zdziarski, II, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs