Blackburn College is very thankful for the receipt of funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). In order to receive these funds, the college signed and returned the certification and agreement form as provided by the Department of Education. The college received $456,532 from HEERF for the purpose of emergency student grants. As of May 27th, $428,540 of these funds have been distributed directly to the 432 students who were eligible under section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. The college distributed these funds based on each student’s estimated family contribution, ensuring that each eligible student received some portion of the emergency grant funding, and that students with greater need received higher levels of funding. Students were notified about this grant funding via an email from Dr. John McClusky, the college’s interim President, on April 27, 2020. In addition to other items, the email contained the following:
 

Federal student emergency relief (HEERF) funding
The Federal CARES Act provided Blackburn $456,532 to distribute to eligible students for the “direct payment of grants to students for their expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.” The Department of Education encourages colleges to prioritize students with the greatest need; all students receiving aid must be eligible to submit a FAFSA.

Blackburn will allocate this money based on each student’s Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) determined from their 2019-2020 FAFSA. Students with a zero EFC will receive the maximum allocation of funds.

 
As of July 11, there is no additional update on the use of HEERF funds.