About the Fund

The Columbus School of Law established a Student Financial Relief Fund (the SFRF, or the Fund) to support students who are experiencing financial hardship affecting their studies at the Law School. Although the SFRF is available to address financial emergencies that students are experiencing as a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is designed as a permanent fund to address student financial needs in future circumstances as well.

The Fund provides assistance to students in the form of grants made directly to students or to students' University accounts, including in the form of cash payments (by check or direct deposit into students' personal accounts) or tuition assistance or other scholarships, depending on the situation and financial aid eligibility rules.

Eligibility for SFRF Grants

1. Eligible applicants are current students at the Columbus School of Law in good standing at the Law School and University who are either graduating after this academic year or planning to continue their studies at the Law School in the next academic year.
   
   
2. Eligible applicants must submit a completed application for a grant from the SFRF, in the form and by any deadline established by the Law School, describing how they meet the award criteria and providing supporting documentation.

Application and Review Process

1. All applications and any supporting materials shall be submitted via the online application or to Megan Glinski at glinski@cua.edu.
2. The Dean will appoint a committee to review applications against the grant criteria and recommend awards to the Dean.
   
   
3. The Dean will approve or reject the recommendations of the committee. The Dean may also delegate to the committee the authority to make awards without prior approval of the Dean up to a certain amount of award.
   
   
4. The Office of Financial Aid, in consultation with the Assistant Dean of Administration, will arrange for and make any payments of grants awarded.

Grant Criteria and Amounts

1. An application should address a student's specific change in financial circumstances rather than a generalized financial need, the urgency of the student's situation, and its effect or impending effect on the student's continuing studies at the Law School.
   
   
2. Priority consideration will be given to
   (a) students whose financial circumstances have changed for reasons beyond their control who because of such changed circumstances need immediate financial assistance to pay for food, shelter, transportation, or health care;
   (b) students who were working at the Law School but for reasons beyond their control can no longer do so;
   (c) students who were otherwise working while pursuing their studies but for reasons beyond their control can no longer do so; and
   (d) students whose family members were working while the students were pursuing their studies and were helping to support the student in his or her studies but for reasons beyond their control can no longer do so.
   
   
3. An application should include supporting documentation, such as receipts, to support any losses or expenses.
   
   
4. Decisions regarding awards (or non-awards) from the SFRF are at the discretion of the Dean (or the Committee by delegation from the Dean) and are final. The Fund and implementing grant program create no right or entitlement in any students for funding from SFRF or otherwise, or for contesting the manner in which it is awarded or the substance of any awards. Students will be advised that, although grants from the SFRF will be coordinated by the Office of Financial Aid with financial aid considerations, any effects on financial aid eligibility or tax implications are ultimately the student's responsibility.
   
   
5. Decisions regarding awards will depend on available funding, and no grant will be awarded in an amount that would exceed the current balance of the SFRF.