As a result of the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) that was recently signed into law, institutions of higher education, including the Louisiana State University of Alexandria, will be receiving funds that are to be granted to students who may have experienced a financial hardship while transitioning from face-to-face to online instruction.
In compliance with the guidelines and eligibility requirements set forth by the United States Department of Education (vs Education’s) (USDOE), the following outlines which students are eligible, as well as those who will not receive funding
Students who will be receiving CARES awards:
•Enrolled in a traditional, face-to-face degree program as of March 13, 2020.
•Making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree at LSUA.
•Completed a FAFSA and eligible to receive federal Title IV aid.
•Eligible to submit a FAFSA, but has not yet done so for the 2019-2020 award year.
Students who are not eligible and will not receive an award:
•Any student enrolled in a 100% online program as of March 13, 2020.
•International students who are not eligible to submit a FAFSA or receive Title IV aid.
•Non-degree seeking students.
•Visiting students.
Any student fitting in to the eligible categories listed above will receive funding from the CARES Act. LSUA will not be requiring an application process. If a student meets the criteria, they will receive a CARES award. LSUA will begin processing awards to students on May 12, 2020, allowing up to three weeks for disbursements to be completed.
Award amounts will range from a base level of $200 for all eligible students, up to $1050 – depending on the number of credits hours enrolled, as well as the amount of federal aid received for the spring 2020 semester. An individual email with each student’s specific award amount will be sent to students within the next three business days.
Any student who has not yet submitted a FAFSA for the 2019-2020 award year, but wishes to receive a CARES Act award, must complete and submit the FAFSA prior to June 1, 2020. The FAFSA can be submitted through the Department of Education’s website found here: www.fafsa.gov. LSUA's school code is: 002011. You may also contact the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships for additional information at financialaid@lsua.edu. Awards for students who have not yet submitted a FAFSA, but do so prior to the deadline, will be disbursed after June 1, 2020.
CARES Act awards will not be applied to accounts with outstanding balances. Each student will receive their full award amount even if they owe a balance to the university. Students who wish to use these funds to pay toward their balance may do so by making a payment through Self-Service or by contacting the Accounting Office at (318) 473-6407.
If a student has banking information on-file through myLSUA, funds will be direct deposited into that account. If no banking information is available, a check will be mailed to the address on file. Banking information may be updated at any time through myLSUA (http://my.lsua.edu).
The LSUA CARES Act website containing much of this same information can be found here: http://www.lsua.edu/caresact/
Additional information and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found here: http://www.lsua.edu/caresactfaq/
FAQ’s will be updated with additional questions/answers as they arise.