Schools still unsure of stimulus cash use

Many local universities seeking info on how to distribute federal funds

Many local colleges and universities are still studying how to distribute millions in federal stimulus money aimed at assisting needy students during the coronavirus pandemic.

Locally, more than $12 million has been allocated to Northwest Indiana colleges and universities from the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package passed by Congress in late March.

Nationwide, about $14 billion went to colleges and universities, including $226.4 million to schools in Indiana. A local breakdown for Ivy Tech campuses wasn’t available.

When the coronavirus outbreak shut down campuses, many students found themselves without financial safety nets. Half of each school’s allocation is meant to aid the most vulnerable students as they struggle to make ends meet.

Xeryus Johnson, 20, of Gary, who’s a sophomore at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, said he’s already been told he’ll get

stimulus money from his university.

“They haven’t told me the exact amount, but it said in an email to make sure to file for financial aid for next year and it will be given as a refund,” he said.

The deadline to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, was extended to June 30.

Johnson, a 2018 Wirt-Emerson graduate, said his mother died when he was 12 and he qualified for a Pell grant, a federal scholarship for low-income students. Johnson said his older sister legally adopted him.

Johnson, who works in the custodial department at Purdue-Fort Wayne, said he’s hoping the stimulus will be at least $800. “That would help so many students,” said Johnson who plans to take summer school classes online.

At Purdue University Northwest, with campuses in Hammond and Westville, spokeswoman Kris Falzone said the money has been received, but university officials were still studying the criteria for distribution.

Most colleges are waiting for more federal input.

IU spokesman Chuck Carney, in Bloomington, said the university was still sorting through the guidance from the U.S. Department of Education and no final decision on how the funds will be used has been made yet.

Amy McCormack, president of Calumet College of St. Joseph, said the school was reviewing the best way to distribute half of its $562,456 to students.

Valparaiso University, which received $3,107,360, did not respond to requests for comment.

VU, a private Lutheran-affiliated university, furloughed 154 full-time employees and 46 part-time workers April 16 because of revenue lost because of the pandemic.

Some of the confusion among universities stems from a lack of specific distribution information from the Department of Education.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos told higher education leaders in an April 9 letter that half of the grant money should be awarded immediately to students who face financial challenges.

“We are prioritizing this funding stream in order to get money in the hands of students in need as quickly as possible,” she said in the letter.

DeVos said each school could develop its own system to award the emergency assistance. While prioritizing students with the greatest need, DeVos also said colleges should consider establishing a maximum funding threshold for each student to ensure funds are meted out as widely as possible.

DeVos suggested schools used the maximum federal Pell grant of $6,195 as the threshold.

If schools determine their students don’t have significant financial needs, DeVos asked them to consider giving their allocations to area colleges in greater need.

In updated April 21 rules, the Trump administration barred undocumented students, such as those in the DACA or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, and international students from receiving assistance. There are about 400,000 undocumented students and about 1 million international students in U.S. schools.

That policy angered some institutions who argued the restriction wasn’t part of Congress’ relief law.

Ivy League schools Princeton and Harvard refused their share of relief funding. Those schools also have fallen under criticism from President Donald Trump and others because they have multi billion- dollar endowment sand Trump and DeVos suggested they return the money.

Meanwhile, colleges are still determining how they’ll use the remainder of the stimulus allocation. Many will shore up online efforts.

Calumet College’s McCormack said it would use the funding to buy laptops for students and faculty. Funds would also be targeted for enhanced and prolonged counseling services, online tutoring platforms, enhanced information technology equipment and training support for visual teaching and learning.

Johnson, a political science and pre-law major, is back on campus in Fort Wayne because he’s still working at his custodial job.

“Moving from in-class to online is pretty difficult, especially when we have projects and labs and everything just changed in a matter of week,” he said.

“The majority of my classes are on Zoom now, and it doesn’t always work because there are so many people.”