Daniella Tebib
News Editor
After many college students were left out of those who would receive a $1,200 stimulus check, President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act into law allocating over $6 million to Murray State to give to students through emergency grants and to help the University recover from the changes made because of COVID-19.
A $2 trillion stimulus bill was passed last month which included $1,200 stimulus checks for those who make less than the limit. However, many Americans did not make the cut for the requirements to receive a check including immigrants without Social Security numbers, some disabled adults and most college students.
However, some students in need may receive help from their institutions through the CARES Act. In the act, $14 billion was allocated for higher education. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on Friday, April 9, over $6 billion of the $14 billion will go to institutions to give to students impacted by the pandemic through emergency financial aid grants. The grants are meant to help students with course materials, technology, food, housing, health care and child care.
“What’s best for students is at the center of every decision we make,” DeVos said. “That’s why we prioritized getting funding out the door quickly to college students who need it most. We don’t want unmet financial needs due to the coronavirus to derail their learning.”
According to a press release from the Department of Education, in order for institutions to access the funds available to them, institutions must sign a certificate affirming they will distribute the funds in accordance with applicable law. The amount of money each university or college will receive is determined by a formula detailed in the CARES Act. It is based on the number of full-time students who are eligible for the Pell Grant, the total population of the school and the number of students who were not enrolled full-time online before the COVID-19 outbreak.
Based on this algorithm, Murray State will receive $6,270,769. Of the more than $6 million the University will receive, a minimum of $3,135,385 must be awarded to the emergency financial aid grants for students. According to the Murray State website there were 9,569 students enrolled in fall 2019. If the University administration distributed the funds equally, each student would receive $327. It is important to note that the University has not released how the funds will be disbursed.
President Bob Jackson said 50% of the federal stimulus funds will be used for need-based grants for students, which is the minimum of $3,135,385 that is required to be used for emergency grants for students.
“Murray State University is very grateful for the stimulus funds from the federal government in order to assist our students with additional financial aid and to help offset millions of dollars of new expenses and lost revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Jackson said.
Jackson also said the University has set aside additional need-based scholarships for students. The University’s Racers Give Campaign raised over $217,000 for need-based scholarships. The Murray State Promise tuition program will also help some students in need.
The Murray State Promise program provides scholarship assistance to help pay for tuition and other mandatory fees if the student’s combined federal, state, institutional and private aid total is less than the cost of tuition. However, online fees, course fees, tuition above 15 hours and other costs including housing, meals and books are not covered.
First-time freshmen and new transfers may be eligible for the program. Other qualifications include residency in Kentucky, admission to Murray State, eligibility for the Pell Grant and KEES scholarship, completion of the Murray State General Scholarship application, completion of FAFSA and enrollment and completion of at least 12 hours each fall and spring semester. For more information on the program, click here.
In comparison to the funding Murray State will receive, Kentucky State University will receive $1,372,077 with a minimum of $686,039 required for students. Morehead State University will receive $6,016,440 with a minimum of $3,008,220 required for students. Northern Kentucky University will receive $7,998,963 with a minimum of $3,999,482 required for students. Eastern Kentucky University will receive $10,542,767 with a minimum of $5,271,384 allocated for students. Western Kentucky University will receive $10,636,493 with a minimum of $5,318,247 set aside for students. University of Louisville will receive $12,478,790, with a minimum of $6,239,395 allocated to go to students. The University of Kentucky will receive $17,811,058 with a minimum of $8,905,529 set aside for students. For the entire list of colleges and universities receiving allocations, click here.
According to a letter from DeVos to college and university presidents, each institution may develop their own system for the distribution of the funds to students and choose which students should receive the grants. While the only requirement is funds must be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations because of COVID-19, DeVos made some suggestions for colleges and universities to follow.
“With that said, I would like to encourage the leadership of each institution to prioritize your students with the greatest need, but at the same time consider establishing a maximum funding threshold for each student to ensure that these funds are distributed as widely as possible,” DeVos. “As a point of reference, you might consider using the maximum Federal Pell Grant (for the 2019-2020 academic year, $6,195) as that threshold. In addition, if you determine that your institution’s students do not have significant financial need at this time, I would ask that you consider giving your allocation to those institutions within your state or region that might have significant need.”
The funding not included in the minimum amount that must be awarded to students is for universities to cover the costs associated with the changes they were forced to make because of COVID-19. However, the Department of Education has not explicitly informed institutions of how exactly they are allowed to use the rest of the funding.
Jackson said the University is working on guidelines for the emergency grants and will provide more details soon. Stay tuned with The News as we follow the story.