In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress has passed several wide-ranging spending and economic recovery packages to help address the public health crisis, maintain core public services, and support the economy. The three most prominent recovery packages include the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplement Appropriations (CRRSA) Act, and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) which together totaled over $6.4 trillion in economic relief.
SHEEO, the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, recently released their 2020 State Higher Education Finance (SHEF) Report which in part provides information on pandemic-related funding. Information from the report can be found below:
- The CARES Act was signed on March 27, 2020 and included nearly $14 billion in direct financial assistance to colleges and universities.
- Nearly $3 billion was included for the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund; dollars governors could spend on either K-12 or postsecondary priorities.
- States allocated $2.38 billion in federal funding to higher education across fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The majority of the funds ($1.95 billion) have been used in 2021 and are helping protect public institutions from declines in state tax appropriations.
- In fiscal year 2021, preliminary data show a substantial increase in the use of federal funding for higher education: 32 states allocated $1.95 billion in federal stimulus funding for higher education.
- The CRRSA Act was signed on December 27, 2020. Unlike CARES, CRRSA did not provide dedicated funding to state and local governments.
- $23 billion was included for direct financial assistance to colleges and universities and over $4 billion was added to the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief fund.
- The ARP of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic relief package was signed on March 11, 2021.
- Nearly $40 billion was included for colleges and universities.
- Unlike the previous two packages, the ARP did not include a Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.
