HEERF Reporting

The University states its assurance that it will use no less than $3,480,517 in funds received in the HEERF III Student Funding allocation to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. The University is prioritizing students with high need to receive these funds.

Palm Beach Atlantic University has received a total of $6,929,988 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds through ARP. This total includes both the student and institutional portions.

A minimum of $3,480,517 is being distributed to PBA students.

All students, regardless of Title IV eligible status, were considered eligible for the grant. The University utilized an application, which required a written statement about how COVID-19 had impacted them financially. Priority was given to students who were Pell eligible, FWS eligible, and those who had previously gone through the Professional Judgment process.

As of December 31, 2021, a total of 641 students who applied were eligible for a grant.

The University created an application form and posted the link to it on the HEERF Funding FAQs page. The link to this, as well as the following message, was posted in Canvas during the application time period.

As part of the COVID-19 response, you may be eligible to receive emergency relief aid through the American Rescue Plan if you have faced significant unexpected expenses due to COVID-19. PBA cares about our students and is committed to ensuring that any student showing exceptional financial need receives an award under the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF) grants. Pell and federal work study-eligible students will be prioritized, but at PBA we recognize that many students and families have been impacted by the pandemic. 

Of the 463 students who applied as of October 15, 2021, all received some portion of the ARP funding. Since the University prioritized needy students, need was determined and then tiers established in the awarding process, with grant amounts decided by EFC.

• 33 eligible students who were eligible to file the FAFSA but did not received a $2,000 grant ($66,000)
• 23 eligible students with an EFC of 30,000+ received a $2,500 grant ($57,500)
• 16 eligible students with an EFC of 20,000-29,999 received a $3,000 grant ($48,000)
• 43 eligible students with an EFC of 10,000-19,999 received a $3,500 grant ($150,500)
• 43 eligible students with either an EFC of 6,346-9,999 or who were not eligible to file the FAFSA received a $4,000 grant ($172,000)
• 6 eligible students with an EFC of 6,000-6,345 received a $4,500 grant ($27,000)
• 15 eligible students with an EFC of 5,000-5,999 received a $5,000 grant ($75,000)
• 14 eligible students with an EFC of 4,000-4,999 received a $5,500 grant ($77,000)
• 18 eligible students with an EFC of 3,000-3,999 received a $6,000 grant ($108,000)
• 16 eligible students with an EFC of 2,000-2,999 received a $6,500 grant ($104,000)
• 22 eligible students with an EFC of 1,000-1,999 received a $7,000 grant ($154,000)
• 26 eligible students with an EFC of 1-999 received a $7,500 grant ($195,000)
• 188 eligible students with an EFC of 0 received a $8,000 grant ($1,504,000)

In November, another round of applications was opened to ensure other needy students were awarded, and the remainder of the funds were utilized. Again, needy students were prioritized with grant amounts decided by EFC.

• 51 eligible students who were eligible to file the FAFSA but did not received a $750 grant ($38,250)
• 26 students who were not eligible to file the FAFSA received a $1,600 grant ($41,600)
• 50 eligible students with an EFC of 20,000+ received a $1,000 grant ($50,000)
• 166 eligible students with an EFC of 1-19,999 received a $1,600 grant ($265,600)
• 106 eligible students with an EFC of 0 received a $2,200 grant ($233,200)

As of December 31, 2021, all funding had been distributed.

The email below was sent to students who applied for the ARP Grant, informing them of the grant amount based on need level and how they were to receive it based on their preferred refund method established in their respective student accounts portal. Students were given the option of applying the grant to their student account but only with authorization from the student via email.

We have good news for you!  You will receive the American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant in the amount of [$x,xxx]. The money will be distributed by October 29th.

Federal regulations now allow students to apply these funds directly to their student account balance.

If you would like to take advantage of this option and have these funds applied to any current balance owed to the University or Fall 2021-22 charges, please click link below by October 15th.

CLICK HERE TO HAVE FUNDS APPLIED TO CURRENT BALANCE

Otherwise the funds will be distributed by check or direct deposit according to the preferred refund method that you filed with the University.

Answers to frequently asked questions about this grant, including who is eligible, can be found here. If you have questions, contact Student Accounts.

We are grateful to have you be part of this exceptional academic year. Go Sailfish!

Yes, an FAQ page was created in the the COVID Information section of our website.

If you have questions, email us at finaid@willowsgolfresort.com.

The University states its assurance that it has used no less than $1,181,523 in funds received in the CFDA 84.425E allocation, under Section 314(a)(1) of the CRRSAA, to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. The University prioritized students with high need to receive these funds.

Palm Beach Atlantic University has received a total of $3,920,083 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds through CRRSAA. This total includes both the student and institutional portions.

The minimum of $1,181,523 was distributed to PBA students.

The University calculated 2,354 Title IV eligible students enrolled during the Spring 2020-2021 semester.

Of the 2,354 Title IV eligible students, all received some portion of the CRRSAA funding. Since the University prioritized high need students, tiers were established in the awarding process. The highest need students were those who were Pell eligible; the second tier were those who were FWS eligible; the remainder was distributed among all other Title IV eligible students.

• 756 Pell eligible students received an $800 grant (total of $604,800)
• 1,085 FWS eligible students received a $400 grant (total of $434,000)
• The remaining 513 Title IV eligible students received a $125 grant (total of $64,125)

This left $78,598 in remaining funds that were allocated to students with need above what they were granted in the general distribution. Studentsts with additional need were, then, asked to submit an application for a Compassion Fund. Of the 66 applicants, all were granted additional funding ranging from $323 to $2,000.

As of July 10, 2021, the spending above consitutes the institution’s final quarterly posting and covers all remaining HEERF fund expenditures for the CRRSAA Student Funding portion.

The email below was sent to PBA students registered for the Spring 2020-2021 semester on March 23, 2021, informing students of the grant amount based on need level and how they were to receive it based on their preferred refund method established in their respective student accounts portal. Students were given the option of applying the grant to their student account but only with authorization from the student via email.

We have good news for you!  You will receive the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act funding, CRRSAA, in the amount of $___. The money will be distributed within the next 3 weeks.

Federal regulations now allow students to apply these funds directly to their student account balance. If you would like to take advantage of this option and have these funds applied to any current balance owed to the University or as prepayment to Summer or Fall 2021-22 charges, please click here by March 29th. Otherwise the funds will be distributed by check or direct deposit according to the preferred refund method that you filed with the University.

We recognize that different families have been impacted in various ways. If you feel that you have additional financial burdens that are not met by this distribution you may apply for the emergency aid fund here by March 29th.

Answers to frequently asked questions about this grant, including who is eligible, can be found here. If you have questions, contact Student Accounts at student_accounts@willowsgolfresort.com.

We are grateful to have you be part of this exceptional academic year.

Go Sailfish!

Yes, an FAQ page was created in the the COVID Information section of our website.

If you have questions, email at finaid@willowsgolfresort.com.

The University signed and returned to the Department of Education (DOE) the Certification Agreement in order to provide these emergency financial aid grants to students. The University states its assurance that it has used no less than 50 percent of the funds received under Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students.

Palm Beach Atlantic University has received a total of $1,181,703 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds through the CARES Act.

All of it — $1,181,703.

The University calculated 2,306 Title IV eligible students enrolled during the Spring 2019-2020 semester.

As of June 19, 2020, 2,306 students received an amount of $512.67 under §18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act.

The method used to determine which students received emergency financial aid grants included the number of students enrolled during the Spring semester who were Title IV eligible, not enrolled in an online program, and did not withdraw prior to March 13, 2020. All on-ground students were considered to have been affected by the pandemic, so the amount of $512.67 was distributed equally among these populations.

The email (below) was sent to PBA students registered for the Spring 2020 semester on June 8, 2020, informing students of the grant in the amount of $512.67 and how they were to receive it based on their preferred refund method established in their respective student accounts portal:

We hope that you are enjoying your summer and that you are staying safe and healthy.

We have good news for you!

You will receive the CARES Act Student Grant in the amount of $512.67 by check or direct deposit, depending on the preferred refund method that you filed with the University. Go to pba.afford.com to confirm or change the selection.

The money will be distributed directly as soon as Palm Beach Atlantic University receives the funds from the federal government.

Palm Beach Atlantic has allocated 100% of the CARES Act Student Grant to all eligible students to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care and child care. Answers to frequently asked questions about this grant, include who is eligible, can be found here. If you have questions, contact Student Accounts at student_accounts@willowsgolfresort.com.

We look forward to seeing you in August – classes begin on campus August 17, 2020.

Go Sailfish!

Yes, a page was created in the the COVID Information section of our website. Click here to see it.

If you have questions, email at student_accounts@willowsgolfresort.com.