A&M-Commerce Students Receive Financial Relief Through CARES Act

***CARES Act Funds referenced in this story have been distributed and are no longer available.***

A&M-Commerce received more than $3.5 million from the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to help students who are experiencing financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal relief fund became available to A&M-Commerce students in early May, and more than a third of the university's students have already completed applications for assistance.

The CARES Act provides grant money to students who have experienced financial hardship related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students may use the grant funds to help pay for college attendance, including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child-care.

Every A&M-Commerce student is encouraged to apply. More than 3,000 individual CARES Act awards have been approved for Spring 2020 as of May 15.

Students may apply for CARES Act assistance for the spring semester until June 1. Additional deadlines for the summer and fall semesters can be found in the Emergency Funding Allocation Plan on the university's Cares Act page.

The amount awarded to each student is based on the number of credit hours in which the student is enrolled in a given term, with additional weight provided for students who received a Pell grant during the semester. Students do not need to be Pell-eligible to qualify for a CARES Act award, but Pell grant eligibility is a weighted factor in the award calculation. The Emergency Funding Allocation Plan on the university's Cares Act page outlines estimated award amounts.

A&M-Commerce students can access the online CARES Act application by visiting tamuc.edu and clicking the red CARES Act banner at the top of the page. After submitting their application, students will instantly find out whether they qualify and how much they can expect to receive.

Charles Robnett, director of student accounts at A&M-Commerce, said, “A&M-Commerce is pleased to be able to provide CARES Act assistance to our students. Our online application is quick and easy with an immediate response as to award approval and amount. We look forward to being able to continue the CARES Act process through the summer and into the fall 2020 semester.”