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Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds

Beginning in March 2020, Congress  passed COVID relief legislation that provided funding to colleges and students to assist with costs related to the COVID pandemic. For each relief bill, the Department of Education provided funding to Maine Maritime Academy in two disbursements. The first disbursement was to be utilized by Maine Maritime Academy (MMA), for institutional relief and  the second disbursement was distributed by Maine Maritime Academy to students as emergency relief for pandemic-related expenses.

How grants were distributed to students:

MMA notified all students that funds were available, and an application was placed on the Academy’s website for students to submit a request for funds. A review committee prioritized each application by urgency, personal or family income loss due to the pandemic, unexpected pandemic-related expenses, and the student’s overall financial need.

Below is a breakdown of the student portions of funding.

CARES: Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
(HEERF I)		CRRSA: Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act
(HEERF II)		ARP: American Rescue Plan
(HEERF III)
Student Aid Available$428,284$438,284$1,125,255
Number of Students eligible9539471533
Number of applications received185259307
Number of students awarded funds176226305
Range of award amount$500-$6000$500-$6400$500-$6400

At this time, all Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds have been issued. If more funds become available, Maine Maritime Academy will notify eligible students and their families.

Quarterly reports for funds used in each bill were submitted to the Department of Education until funds were expended and a final report was made. Annual reports presented to the Department of Education are subject to federal review for compliance.

Documents: