Local colleges set to receive millions to recover losses caused by pandemic

The CARES Act has set aside $14 billion to support local colleges and universities

NEWBERRY, S.C. (WOLO) —Alongside millions of Americans starting to receive economic relief checks this week, the federal government is set to help out another group: local colleges and universities.

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, $14 billion is set to be distributed to public and private schools to help offset losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

For Newberry College President Maurice Scherrens, the last few weeks have been financially straining.

“This COVID-19 has probably resulted in a $3 million revenue loss for the college,” Dr. Scherrens said.

In order to help out Newberry and other schools across the country, the US Department of Education is set to dish out billions of dollars to help them recover financially.

As part of this plan, Newberry College will receive more than $1.5 million.

Half of that has to go towards reimbursing students who lost money when the semester suddenly came to a halt. In a letter sent by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, these could cover expenses related to a student’s cost of attendance, including food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care, that may have been hindered by the coronavirus pandemic.

“It’s hard for families to make payments in terms of what they owe the college for tuitions and fees, so what we’ll do primarily is get this money back into the hands of families of students who really need help to finish their college education,” Dr. Scherrens said.

Dr. Scherrens says this other half of that money will go towards a reduction in price for summer courses as well as a freeze on tuition for the fall.

With some much-needed help coming in, some say this will be a temporary fix as schools face uncertainty for the fall.

“It’s probably not enough to cover all the expenses but it’s certainly very welcome and it will go a long way to help institutions weather this crisis,” said Dr. Rusty Monhollon, the Executive Director of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (CHE).

As for the fall, Dr. Scherrens says it’s important to be prepared if the pandemic continues, but he says he can’t wait for the day students can come back to campus.

“We have the greatest hope that in fall we can return to some form of normalcy in terms of having face-to-face, in-the-seat classroom instruction, and that’s really the core of who we are,” Dr. Scherrens said.

Below is a visual look from how much money will be distributed to Midlands schools, according to the U.S. Department of Education. A full list is here.

*Undergraduate Enrollment data comes from the National Center on Education Statistics