CARES Act Emergency Aid refers to funding provided to colleges and universities in spring 2020 by the U.S. Department of Education to provide emergency grant aid to federal aid eligible students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus.
The following is a list of expenses that can be considered for CARES Act Emergency Aid if they were incurred due to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus:
Food | Computer | Course Supplies (including books, software, and hardware) |
Rent | Internet | Healthcare |
Utilities | Moving | Childcare |
Please Note: Not all funds requested can be approved due to limited funding.
CARES Act Emergency Aid:
IMPORTANT NOTE:
The Deadline to apply for Fall 2020 CARES Act emergency Aid was 5 p.m. September 11, 2020
Students who enrolled and maintained enrollment in fall 2020 could apply for CARES Act emergency aid if they met the following criteria:
Once your application has been submitted, you should anticipate a response via your UT Dallas email address within 10 business days. If additional information is needed, we will contact you via your UT Dallas email. Please be advised – duplicate submissions will increase the time it takes to review your application. Please make sure your application is complete and final before submitting it.
The maximum amount awarded will depend on your individual application submitted as well as the number of eligible applications received. Please note that we cannot fund all costs requested due to limited funds. CARES Act emergency aid is a non-renewable fund and awarding is limited by funding.
If additional documentation is required to support your application, the Office of Financial Aid will contact you via your UTD email address.
Refunds for recipients of CARES Act Emergency Aid will be issued by the Bursar Office. It is highly recommended that you be enrolled in direct deposit to expedite your refund.
CARES Act Emergency Aid cannot be awarded to international students, TASFA applicants, DACA students, or students enrolled in fully online programs prior to March 13, 2020. Students who do not meet the basic eligibility criteria are also not eligible.
You will receive an email response to your application within 10 business days of submission. Requests for additional information, status updates, and award notices will be sent from the Office of Financial Aid to your UTD email address.
Emergency aid grants vary by student and are unique to each student’s expenses incurred. We cannot fund all costs requested as funding is limited.
We are not able to accept appeals for additional funding.
Refunds for recipients of CARES Act Emergency Aid will be issued by the Bursar Office. It is strongly recommended that you be enrolled in direct deposit to expedite your refund.
CARES Act Emergency Aid will not affect other financial aid awarded to you.
Yes, as long as they met the criteria outlined above.
Students were able to apply once per eligible term of enrollment (see eligibility requirements per term above). Please do not submit multiple applications for a term as this will slow down the process for you and for others. Note: The deadline to apply for CARES Act emergency aid has passed.
There are some verification requirements related to CARES Act Emergency Aid. If we need additional information from you, we will contact you via your UTD email address. To be considered for other federal, state, and institutional financial aid, verification must be completed.
You may qualify for CARES Act Emergency Aid even if you received only unsubsidized loans as long as you meet the eligibility requirements and have unanticipated expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.
CARES Act Emergency Aid is considered a qualified disaster relief payment under section 139 of the Internal Revenue code, and thus is excluded from income. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions section of the IRS Coronavirus and Economic impact Payments: Resources and Guidance webpage.