Federal Funding Left Out Some of the Most Vulnerable – Inside Higher Ed
Holes in the formula to divvy up coronavirus stimulus funds to higher education left institutions that serve the most needy students underresourced, experts say.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Department of Education released figures on how much each college will receive from the $12 billion set aside for higher education in the coronavirus stimulus package passed by Congress last month.
It’s hard to say definitively who the winners and losers are, as the funds were parsed out by a specific formula. But that formula proved to disadvantage some of the institutions that may need the most help right now.
“I think it was pretty clear from Congress that the intent was to really focus on the need of students at institutions from the fact that they so heavily weighed the formula toward full-time Pell Grant recipients,” said Megan McClean Coval, vice president at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.
One of the key phrases in that sentence? “Full-time Pell Grant recipients.”