RESOURCESONPAGE4
City Times
sdcitytimes.com
Covering the San Diego City College community since 1945
Volume 74, Issue 6 | April 30, 2020
CAres act aids students during pandemic
City Collegewill receive$4.5millioninfundingfromgovernment B Y GABE SCH NEI DER Staff Writer
S
an Diego City College students will r eceive just under 2.3 million in financial aid, accor ding to the gover nment database that lists the allocations for each college and univer sity acr oss the countr y. The aid comes fr om a package included in the Cor onavir us Aid, Relief, and Economic Secur ity (CARES) Act, which pr ovides $6.8 billion in initial for mula gr ants to higher education institutions known as the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). San Diego City College Chancellor Constance Car r oll said institutions in the distr ict, including City, Mesa and Mir amar colleges, would r eceive funds. City Times totaled just over $13.7 million based on the gover nment database that details the allocations to colleges and univer sities acr oss the countr y. I n her most r ecent update shar ed tonight by email and online, Car r oll said, ?they ar e closely monitoring feder al r elief funding.? ?We ar e gr eatly disappointed by the clar ifications we have r ecently r eceived r egar ding how the funds may be used,? Car r oll wr ote in the update. ?Clear ly, our values
as a community college or ganization ar e inclusive and it is our goal to help all students, especially those who ar e the most vulner able.? However, this amount allocated is based on Pell Gr ant figur es, which is tied to cr edit students. The guidelines fr om the CARES Act r equir e that 50% of the funds ar e allocated to students, especially students impacted negatively by the COVI D -19 cr isis. I n all, City College will r eceive just over $4.5 million in allocations. ?The funds can only be used for ?Title I V-eligible?students, defined as legal r esidents who have a high school diploma or GED and who ar e r egister ed in author ized pr ogr ams. The CARES Act HEERF specifically excludes undocumented, DACA, and inter national students fr om this funding,? Car r oll said. Accor ding to the chancellor, ?This clar ification would in effect also exclude some categor ies of noncr edit students.? Although many cour ses at City College ar e ?gr oundbased,? students whose schedules only included online classes on Mar ch 13 will also be excluded fr om aid. The colleges can use the r emaining funds to ?defr ay expenses for institutions of
Cur r ent COVID-19 safety pr ecautions have caused the San Diego Community College Distr ict to close campuses including San Diego City College. City Times file photo
higher education such as lost r evenue, technology costs associated with a tr ansition to distance education, and gr ants to students for food, housing, cour se mater ials, technology, health car e, and child car e,? Car oll wr ote on Apr il 15 and Apr il 23. Since students? ?financial needs ar e immediate and
gr eat? the four institutions have decided to distr ibute their scholar ship funds ear ly. ?Pr esident Ricky Shabazz r epor ts that City College has alr eady distr ibuted $283,090 to 210 students and is pr oviding emer gency funds as well,? Car oll said. San Diego Community College Distr ict r eceived
$200,000 fr om the San Diego Foundation to fight the ?Digital Divide.? City College will r eceive $49,000 to pr ovide computer equipment to students in need. This story will be updated on sdcitytimes.com as more information becomes available.