Colleges are getting millions to help students in need, but don't know how to spend it
Indiana colleges and universities are set to receive roughly $200 million from the federal government’s coronavirus relief package – a welcome boost as higher education institutions and their students face unprecedented challenges, both academic and financial.
The only problem: Most schools say they’re not sure yet how to spend it.
Colleges and universities across the state told IndyStar they’re awaiting more guidance from the U.S. Department of Education before distributing the money – half of which must go directly to students in need. The rest can be spent as schools see fit to help with the transition to online learning.
Through the CARES Act, colleges nationwide will receive about $14 billion. The amount a college receives is largely based on the number of full-time students who are eligible for Pell Grants, federal scholarships for low-income students. Institutions themselves are supposed to determine who will receive the money, according to the Education Department. The funding was meant to help students pay for course materials, food, housing and health care, among other things.
Colleges have been wary of distributing the money for fear of running afoul of future guidance from the federal government, said Justin Draeger, CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
There are questions, he said, of which students are eligible and just how the funds can be used. Clarification from the Education Department is needed, he said. Colleges need assurance they won’t be penalized for how they give out the money down the line.
Ivy Tech
Jeff Fanter, Vice President for Marketing and Communications at Ivy Tech, said the school has received $16.52 million that will be distributed to students in two ways.
Nearly one half of the funding — $8.24 million — will be given out using a formula based on unmet need. Over 22,400 Title IV eligible students across the state will automatically receive $250-$1,000. This distribution process has already started.
The second portion of the school's funding will be allocated to individual Ivy Tech campuses the same way they were spread to the college through the CARES Act. The amount of money each campus will receive is unavailable at this time, Fanter explained.
The money will be used, along with other funding resources, as private donations through the Ivy Tech Foundation, grants and further support for students in need of emergency funds.
Students who require emergency funds for food, transportation and other needs will apply for aid through an application. Those who received funding from the formula distribution will also be eligible for this emergency aid.
UE
According to Holly Smith, the University of Evansville's senior director of marketing and communications, the school received a portion of the federal funding and plans on administering emergency grants directly to students.
Based on the requirements set by the Department of Education, students who were registered in the Spring 2020 semester and were eligible for Federal Title IV Financial Aid will be awarded funding. The grants will be distributed to all eligible students based on their level of need.
USI
The CARES Act has allotted roughly $2.9 million to the University of Southern Indiana for Emergency Financial Aid Grants to be issued as direct payments to students, executive director for enrollment Rashad Smith said.
Administrators are preparing a plan that includes a way for students and faculty to notify the university about their financial hardships as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Smith said the plan will also determine a path for "equitable distribution" of the CARES Act dollars within the Department of Education guidelines.
Help needed
Meanwhile, students such as Mahogany Brim have turned to other sources for help.
A sophomore at DePauw University, Brim said she reached out to DePauw's Student Emergency Relief Fund for help when she needed to book a flight home to New York City on short notice after the campus abruptly closed in March.
DePauw will receive about $1.5 million in CARES funding, but has already allocated $231,000 to students' emergency needs, such as travel, temporary lodging, internet access and other tech support to accommodate online learning. A university spokesperson said they still have requests coming in.
As the campus was getting ready to close in March, the university reached out to alumni and community members for donations to help students like Brim.
"The office was so crowded," she said. "It was really chaotic. Everybody had different issues: getting to the airport, finding out how to get home from there, money for laptops if they didn't have their own."
Brim is at DePauw through the Posse Foundation, which gives promising students from diverse backgrounds full-tuition scholarships at partner institutions. She said the campus closure was especially challenging for students like her that don't live within driving distance.
"A lot of students of color are Posse Scholars from New York," she said. "We’re the ones who struggled the most getting our stuff back, booking these flights."
Waiting for guidance
The CARES funding is supposed to help students facing financial strain due to the pandemic. But many schools said they’re waiting for more guidance from the Education Department before distributing the money.
Among its various campuses, Indiana University will receive more than $60 million, with more than $30 million to distribute directly to students in need, but is still considering how to spend and distribute it.
Purdue has more than $17 million in direct aid to award, but also doesn’t have a plan in place yet to distribute to funds.
“We intend to be mindful of need when it comes to distribution,” said a Purdue university spokesperson, "and have a team of people from across the university currently working on possible plans."
Ball State University is receiving more than $15 million and has yet to decide how to spend it.
‘Basically unemployed’
Brim is back home in New York with her family now, finishing her classes online. But she's missing the on-campus job she had as a receptionist at the fitness center, which afforded her spending money and independence.
"We’re basically unemployed," she said.
And, because most college students are still considered dependents, they didn't receive the $1,200 stimulus check that the rest of the country received.
"Being home is another financial strain on our parents," she said.
While schools are blaming the Department of Education for a lack of guidance, the Education Department has said colleges are unnecessarily delaying the process.
Whoever is at fault, the effect is clear. Students across the country don’t yet have access to emergency funds that could help them.