CARES funds for TCAT students
Published 10:16 am Tuesday, May 26, 2020
- TCAT President Dean Blevins
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TCAT — Eligible students at TCAT Elizabethton are receiving funds from a pool of $450,000 earmarked for TCAT Elizabethton students.
The funds are part of the federal CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act approved by Congress.
College President Dean Blevins said TCAT Elizabethton is working with the Tennessee Board of Regents system office which is handling all student payments, from eligibility to payment processing electronically and mailing checks directly to all technical and community college students.
CARES funds are intended to help students cover expenses they incurred related to the disruption of campus operations due to the coronavirus pandemic, including such cost-of-attendance eligible expenses as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
The college will distribute 90 percent of the funds to eligible students (as outlined below) and 10 percent through special payments to students with additional need, through an application process.
Students eligible for payments are degree-seeking students who were enrolled full- or part-time on or after March 13 for the Spring 2020 semester, with the following exceptions under federal regulations:
— Students not eligible to participate in federal Title IV aid programs (Pell Grant, federal student loans, and other federal financial aid programs);
— Students who initially enrolled exclusively in distance education courses as of March 13, 2020;
— High school dual-enrollment students; non-degree-seeking students, and employees in special-industry training programs at the colleges.
Blevins said there are still too many unknowns coping with COVID-19. “We are concerned with ensuring the safety of our college family, including faculty, staff, students and the community.”
TCAT Elizabethton has followed COVID-19 health safety guidelines, including social distancing, increased sanitizing methods and the wearing of face coverings for on campus college activities, Blevins said.
In-person graduation ceremonies for TCAT students, scheduled Aug. 13 in Seeger Chapel on the campus of Milligan University, have been postponed due to COVID 19 concerns. “We are hopeful that we can reschedule an in person graduation ceremony later in the fall, and also possibly a virtual graduation celebration in the immediate future,” Blevins said.
