Community Colleges Struggled With Emergency Aid Distribution – Inside Higher Ed
Two-year colleges worked quickly to distribute federal emergency aid, but shifts in federal guidance made the process difficult.
Many community colleges already have disbursed aid from the federal CARES Act relief package to their students.
Leaders of two-year colleges said they are grateful for the support, but also that it’s not enough money, and that federal guidance on how to distribute the funds — or lack thereof — made it difficult to move quickly.
Community college students have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Many work at least part-time while attending school, often in industries that have been shut down by COVID-19. Community college leaders had to balance getting funds out to as many students as possible, while also ensuring the amount students received would make a difference.
The formula used in the CARES Act to send funds to colleges relied heavily on the number of full-time Pell Grant recipients institutions serve. About one-third of community college students are eligible for Pell Grants, but many also attend part-time, which reduced how much aid the colleges received.