Student and Institutional Funds Combined (as of 07/01/2022) – CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Reporting

Institutional Funds – CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Reporting

Student Aid Funds – CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) Reporting

PIA has elected to provide an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to all students who meet the eligibility requirements, who acknowledge negative financial impact by the COVID-19 pandemic, and who agree to utilize their grant award for qualified expenses. The funding is limited and will be awarded equally based on the total number of eligible students.6 If you are a PIA School of Specialized Technology student eligible for Federal Financial Aid and if the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted your personal financial situation, you will receive a lump sum of money, in the amount of $480.00 from Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics. Please be aware that any money awarded from this grant is to be used for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus. These expenses include eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance in the calculation of Federal Financial Aid, such as food, housing, course materials, technology,  health care, and child care. The funds cannot be used toward your tuition. Although the money is funded by the Federal Government, individual institutions are managing the eligibility and approval process and the distribution of funds. 7 Students received certification forms to their PIA emails for completion.  Completing this certification form acknowledges your acceptance of the emergency financial aid grant, confirms your eligibility for these funds, confirms that you have experienced negative financial impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and confirms that you understand your responsibility to use these funds for qualified expenses as listed above. Failure to submit the completed certification form by Friday June 5, 2020 will result in your forfeiture of the grant. If you have questions, please contact the Financial Aid Department at financialaid@pia.edu. 7 Below are required items to be posted on the website regarding this topic per the US Department of Education.

    1. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics acknowledges that we have signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education, the Certification and Agreement and we assure that PIA intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students as provided by the CARES Act.
    2. PIA has received $229,473 for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
    3. As of May 27, 2020, $54,240 has been disbursed directly to students.
    4. The estimated number of students at PIA that are eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students is 469.
    5. As of May 27, 2020, the Emergency Financial Aid Grant has been disbursed to 113 students.
    6. The method PIA is using to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants is referenced in the first paragraph of this post.
    7. Additional instructions, directions, or guidance to the students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants is referenced in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this post.

As of June 16th, 2020, 451 students at PIA have received disbursements of these funds equaling $216, 480. As of July 17th, 2020, 452 students at PIA have received disbursements of these funds equaling $216,960. As of August 24, 2020, 452 students at PIA have received disbursements of these funds equaling $216,960.  The remaining balance to be disbursed is $12,513. As of December 3, 2020, the remaining $12, 513 of the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students have been disbursed.  Additionally, PIA disbursed $1,887 from the HEERF Institutional funds to PIA students.

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) II 

The United States Department of Education created a second relief program to disburse emergency financial aid grants through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund II (HEERF II) created by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA). The fund allocates emergency relief funding for eligible postsecondary students across the country to address the financial hardship of students due to the disruption of campus operations.

  • Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 has provided an additional $229,473 of HEERF II funds for the “Student Aid Portion” and $229,473 for the “Institutional Portion”.
  • As of 3/31/2021, $0 had been disbursed from the Student Aid Portion.
  • As of 6/10/21 $72,500 had been disbursed from the Student Aid Portion. 145 students were awarded $500 each.
  • PIA determined students with exceptional need as follows:
    • Student had completed a 20/21 FAFSA
    • Student was enrolled in the Spring quarter at the Pittsburgh campus as of June 6, 2021, AND
    • Student was Title IV eligible and had an EFC of $15,000 and below.
    • Eligible students were personally given a form on June 8, 2021.  By signing the form they acknowledged their need for the CRRSAA funds and the grant may be used for any component of the student’s cost of attendance.  The forms were required to be returned by June 9, 2021.  All students returned the form and 1 student declined the grant. Click here to review the form.

CRRSSA grants will be determined using the same criteria at the remaining campuses.   Youngstown, Hagerstown and Myrtle Beach students with exceptional need (using the criteria above) will have their grants disbursed in July of 2021. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics acknowledges that we have signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education, the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that PIA has used the applicable amount of funds designated under the CRRSAAA and ARP programs to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students, and we assure that PIA intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students as provided by the CARES Act.

On July 28, 2021 students at the Hagerstown, Myrtle Beach and Youngstown campuses were personally given a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Certification Form. Click here to review the form.    Eligibility of students with exceptional need was based on the criteria previously listed above.  172 students accepted the grant and were awarded $670.  From this group, 116 students were PELL eligible and received an additional $312.  Students were given the option of applying the grant to their tuition balance or receiving a check. Between July 30, 2021 and August 4, 2021, the grants were given to the students.  Checks were hand-delivered to students at the campuses.  These grants were awarded from the student portion of CRRSAA and totaled $151,432. On September 22, 2021 78 students at the Pittsburgh campus were awarded an additional $100 from the CRRSAA grant.  These students previously were awarded CRRSSA money, were PELL eligible based on the 2020/21 FAFSA and are currently enrolled. $5,541 of the $7,800 awarded was from the Student Grant Program and the remaining $2,259 was from the Institutional funds. By completing the certification form the student acknowledged their acceptance of the emergency financial aid grant, confirmed their eligibility for the funds, and confirmed that they understood their responsibility to use the funds for qualified expenses listed on the form. As of this posting, all $229,473 of the CRRSSA funds have been awarded to eligible students.  PIA has received and will award $895,610 from the student portion of HEERF III American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to eligible students in the FALL 2021 term at PIA. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics acknowledges that we have signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education, the Certification and Agreement and the assurance that PIA has used the applicable amount of funds designated under the CRSAA and ARP programs to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students, and we assure that PIA intends to use no less than 50 percent of the funds to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students as provided by the CARES Act.

HEERF III, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP)

On May 14, 2021, PIA received $895,610 for the student portion of HEERF III, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.  As of July 9, 2021, no funds have been disbursed. Students were advised via email on September 24, 2021 that they might qualify for an adjustment (professional judgement) to their 2021-22 FAFSA if they met certain criteria. Click here to review the email distributed to students.  If they contacted the Financial Aid Department, they were given a “Student Emergency Financial Aid Grants Professional Judgement Request Form”.  The form was utilized by the department to determine if a Professional Judgement was warranted. The student was then notified by the Financial Aid Department of the result of the review. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics has elected to provide an Emergency Financial Aid Grant to students who completed the PIA HEERF III application, submitted the application by the November 1, 2021 deadline, met the requirements and certified that the funds would be used for any component of their cost of attendance.  Students were sent an email with the application attached.  Additionally, PIA staff at each campus informed the students of the application and strongly recommended that they apply. As required, PIA prioritized the applicants with exceptional need.  These applicants were PELL grant recipients and students who were DACA, DREAMers, refugees or asylum seekers who could not apply for the FAFSA. The exceptional need students received a HEERF III ARP grant of $3,710. The applicants who did not have exceptional need received a $600 grant.  On the application, students had 2 options to receive the grant.  The grant could be directly applied to their PIA tuition account balance or via a check.  Students who opted for a check were hand delivered the grant check. Either option required a signature.

  1. Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics acknowledges that we have signed and returned to the U.S. Department of Education, the Certification and Agreement for the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
  2. PIA has received $895,610 for the Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students.
  3. As of November 18, 2021, the entire $895,610 from ARP has been disbursed to the Students. Additionally, $1,250 from the Institutional funds were used for the grants disbursed to the students. A total of $896,860 was disbursed.
  4. The number of students at PIA that applied and were eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and thus eligible to receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students is 427.
  5. As of November 18, 2021, the Emergency Financial Aid Grant/HEERF III has been disbursed to 427 students. 206 students received $3,710, 221 received $600, for a total of $896,860.
  6. The method PIA used to determine which students receive Emergency Financial Aid Grants is referenced above and within the above attachments.
  7. Additional instructions, directions, or guidance to the students concerning the Emergency Financial Aid Grants is referenced above and within the above attachments.