Tiny education programs get more relief per student
WASHINGTON — Three small postsecondary programs at Connecticut technical high schools are slated to receive more coronavirus relief per student than the University of Connecticut or numerous private colleges, thanks to an unexpected distribution formula used by the U.S. Department of Education.
Goodwin Technical High School in New Britain, Cheney Technical High School in Manchester and Platt Technical High School in Milford are each eligible for $500,000 for their higher education programs under the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act. Goodwin and Cheney have about 60 students enrolled in those programs; Platt has about 37.
For Platt, that means $13,513 per pupil.
In contrast, the University of Connecticut, which educates over 32,000 students, will receive $21.5 million in relief. That’s $665 per pupil.
The striking disparity in aid is a result of how the DOE distributed a portion of the $14 billion in higher education relief that Congress approved to help schools struggling to support their students and institutions during the pandemic. The legislation was written in a hurry, and the department has moved fast to get money out the door as quickly as possible. But the inconsistent distribution has created a scenario where some small schools say they will eventually return funds to the DOE, while larger colleges and universities are desperate for more relief.
While most of the money was distributed via a formula that accounted for a school’s size and population of lowincome students, about $350 million was earmarked for hundreds of the smallest schools in America so that every not-for-profit higher education institution that teaches students in person received at least $500,000 in coronavirus aid.
In order to receive this funding, an institution will need to request it, a DOE spokesman said. Once the requests are processed, the remaining money will be distributed through a competitive grant process.
Ben Miller, vice president of postsecondary education at the think tank Center for American Progress, said that’s not how Congress planned for this $350 million to be used. He called it “a complete screw-up.”
“It was supposed to go to places that demonstrated a lot of need and within that, they were supposed to give priority to smaller colleges,” said Miller. “The department just basically blew past any of the requirements around demonstrating need.”
Jason Delisle, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said the bill was written to suggest $500,000 was a mandatory minimum for college aid, while allowing DOE some discretion. DOE “took a pass on using discretion,” he said.
“Doing something else, while obviously it would prevent extreme cases like you’re talking about, would take a lot of time,” said Delisle. “This has to fall on Congress… they could have written a formula spelling out how they wanted the money allocated.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro, DConn., who chairs the committee that writes the DOE budget, urged Education Sec. Betsy Devos to reverse this distribution.
“This decision is unacceptable and will be detrimental to students at institutions significantly impacted by COVID-19, many of which are in desperate need of relief,” she wrote to Devos.
Sen. Chris Murphy, DConn., who sits on the Senate committee overseeing education, said he wanted Devos to testify before Congress “immediately to explain her methods.”
“Congressional oversight is more important than ever in making sure the money we appropriate gets to those who need it most,” Murphy said. “With so many Connecticut colleges and students suffering from closures related to COVID-19, I am troubled that Secretary DeVos seemed to have prioritized funding for schools that didn’t necessarily need it.”
But Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who chairs the Senate committee on education, countered that Devos is “doing a good job implementing the law the way Congress wrote it.”
“Where Congress gave the secretary discretion, or minimal direction, she is taking reasonable steps to implement the law fairly, effectively and efficiently,” Alexander said.
As a result of the DOE’s choice, five of the smallest postsecondary schools or programs in Connecticut could receive $500,000 in aid. In addition to the three technical high school programs, Holy Apostle College and Seminary in Cromwell, which has about 650 enrolled, and Hartford Seminary, which has 170 students, are each eligible.
“Notice of this funding was unexpected, and the grant has not yet been received,” said Susan Schoenberger, director of communications at Hartford Seminary.
“Our plan is to ensure that every dollar goes toward student aid and student programs during this difficult moment, allowing our diverse students to continue in their interreligious peace studies, chaplaincy degrees, and leadership training, preparing them to serve in our country’s hospitals, prisons, military, schools, and nonprofits. If the amount given exceeds what is needed, it will be returned.”
In contrast, larger colleges and universities said the aid that they are receiving from DOE hardly makes a dent in their forecast losses.
UConn refunded $30 million in housing, parking and dining fees to students this semester, said Stephanie Reitz, spokesperson for the university.
“For next fall, we estimate a loss anywhere between $29 million in the best-case scenario (that takes into account the likelihood of the loss of at least some of our international student population) to a worst-case scenario (if we remain fully online) with about a $121.6 million loss, if a large segment of our current international and out-of-state students do not return and many others decline to enroll as new students,” Reitz said.
Wesleyan University, which has about 3,240 students will receive $2.3 million from the CARES Act, or roughly $697 per pupil. The school is forecasting $11 million in losses this semester, said Lauren Rubenstein, director of media relations for the university.
The University of Bridgeport, which has 4,615 students, will receive $3.4 million from the CARES Act, or roughly $744 per pupil.
“Though the university is appreciative of the funding, the allocated amount falls short of defraying the substantial losses and the unplanned costs associated with the coronavirus pandemic,” said Tarek Sobh, interim provost of the University of Bridgeport.
About half of the coronavirus relief that larger colleges and universities receive must be spent on emergency grants to low-income students with demonstrated coronavirus needs. Only students eligible for federal student aid programs can apply, excluding international and undocumented students.
UConn has given grants to more than 12,200 students at all levels, with the average being about $830 each, Reitz said. The university is about to start a second round of grants to help students cover the cost of food, housing, health care, child care and more.
Wesleyan awarded cash grants ranging from $650 to $1,300 to 1,200 students this week using CARES Act funding. The university paid for grants for 120 additional students, Rubenstein said.
After distributing those students grants, the schools can then access the second half of their funds — institutional relief that can be used to defray expenses and lost revenues.
Jennifer Widness, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, said this process has proven difficult and complicated for many schools.
“In general, Connecticut’s private, nonprofit colleges have found the process of accessing and determining the appropriate use of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds authorized by the CARES ACT to be challenging given the complicated guidance issued by the U.S. Department of Education over the last few weeks,” Widness said.
Some wealthy private schools with large endowments, like Harvard and Stanford universities, have rejected the federal funding allocated for them, following pressure. Yale University announced in April it would decline the funding so the funding can go to other schools “whose continued existence is threatened by the current crisis,” Yale officials said.
Debate over further coronavirus relief legislation has stalled in Congress as Senate Republicans urge a “pause” as funds from earlier legislation continue to be distributed. House Democrats proposed another $37 billion for higher education in the Heroes Act passed May 15.
That’s far short of the $46.6 billion the American Council on Education and 40 other higher education organizations requested from Congress.