CARES Act Financial Relief Fund

Utilizing funds provided by the federal government through the CARES Act, resources from the University’s Lynchburg Cares Fund, and donations to the Lynchburg Crisis Response Fund, the University distributed funds equally to all full-time undergraduates enrolled in the spring of 2020. Additional funds were distributed to undergraduates with the most financial need, undergraduate work-study students were paid for all hours not worked due to the pandemic, and graduate assistants were also paid the remainder of their cash stipends.All undergraduate students received $350, while Pell Grant-eligible undergraduates received an additional $450. Unpaid wages for all undergraduate work-study students and all graduate assistants were administered by the Office of Student Employment and the dean of graduate studies, respectively. Please note that international and DACA students were not eligible for federal relief funds.

The CARES Act, passed by Congress and signed by the president on March 27, provided $987,990 in direct student relief. This amount was supplemented by the Lynchburg Cares Fund and the Lynchburg Crisis Response Fund that was established by the Office of Advancement this spring.

Representatives from across the University worked with the Strategic Budget Group to develop this relief plan. This pool of federal dollars was mandated to go directly to students. Our plan equitably fulfilled this federal requirement and supports all of our undergraduate students, as well as those graduate assistants impacted by the pandemic.

In accordance with federal guidelines, the University of Lynchburg acknowledges the following:

• The University of Lynchburg signed and returned to the Department of Education the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that the institution has used, or intends to use, no less than 50% of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide emergency financial aid grants to students.
• The University of Lynchburg received $987,990 from the department pursuant to the institution’s Certification and Agreement [for] Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
• The University distributed $987,990 of emergency financial aid grants to students under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act as of Oct. 28, 2020.
• 1,762 students received an emergency financial aid grant.
• The University of Lynchburg had 1,900 students (in Spring 2020) eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.