Texas A&M University received $39,816,443 in federal stimulus aid with a minimum of $19,908,221 to be used for emergency financial aid.
The $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27 and created an almost $14 billion Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. These allocations were calculated according to the number of full-time students, Pell-Grant recipients and non-Pell students. The allocations for each university can be found here.
In a press release from the Department of Education, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced more than $6 billion of the total Higher Education Relief Fund will be distributed to provide college students with emergency cash grants for any major life or educational changes due to the coronavirus.
“What’s best for students is at the center of every decision we make,” Secretary DeVos said in the press release. “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.”
Texas A&M System institutions received a total of $112.5 million, and Texas A&M University received the ninth highest allocation of any university in the nation and the highest allocation of any university in Texas.
Editor’s Note: The Texas A&M University at Qatar campus is not eligible for CARES Act funding because they are a self-funded campus.
The Health Science Center and Texas A&M at Galveston will receive funding through the flagship university in College Station, said Amy Smith, Texas A&M University senior vice president, chief marketing and communications officer. A CARES Act administration review is in progress, Smith said.
“The Texas A&M administration is working through the announcement from the Department of Education, which was recently received,” Smith said. “We are most grateful on behalf of students who will benefit directly from the CARES Act and will work with the Department of Education to do so with the greatest impact for students.”
As of April 14, A&M has reimbursed a total of approximately $20 million for services like on-campus housing, dining and parking, Smith said.
“The university is assessing tremendous impacts to the university due to COVID-19 in financial cost to our students, faculty, staff, operations, costs affiliated with responding to COVID-19, and lost revenue,” Smith said. “That assessment will not be final until after the conclusion of the spring semester.”
More than 500 students have been granted immediate emergency relief in the last 30 days with the help of donations and organizations like the Texas A&M Foundation.
“With COVID-19 impacts, we have been thankful for private donations through the Texas A&M Foundation totaling $550,000 to allow us to help students,” Smith said. “This fund is different from the CARES Act allocations which will be implemented, tracked and reported out according to Dept. of Education requirements.”
Students seeking relief funds can visit the emergency aid website that was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.