A look at how colleges could benefit from $3B in coronavirus aid for states – Education Dive
Applications for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund include few concrete details, but they show a focus on bolstering remote instruction.
At a time when colleges and universities are reeling from the financial fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, a $3 billion pot of new federal money to help governors stabilize their education programs could help cushion the blow. But whether higher education institutions will see any of that money — much less decide what they will spend it on — will vary greatly by state.
Education Dive’s analysis of state applications for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund shows widely different plans for the funds, which come with few strings attached. For example, New Jersey plans to use all of its allotment, nearly $69 million, for higher ed. Delaware, its neighbor to the south, doesn’t expect to spend any of its $7.9 million share on colleges.
The amount states receive, which is based on their count of children and young adults, varies widely, from $4.5 million in Vermont to $355.2 million in California.
Most states plan to split the money they get between K-12 and higher ed. Few provided concrete numbers to the U.S. Department of Education, which administers the grant, but they did describe the ways they hope to use the windfall to address some of the myriad problems caused by the coronavirus.