Students at Maryland Colleges and Universities to Benefit From Federal CARES Act
Maryland’s congressional delegation said Monday that the state’s colleges and universities will receive over $170 million in federal aid through a measure in the CARES Act that Congress passed late last month.
U.S. Sens. Chirs Van Hollen (D-Md.), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Reps. Steny H. Hoyer, C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, John P. Sarbanes, Andrew P. Harris, Anthony G. Brown, Jamie B. Raskin and David J. Trone jointly announced that Maryland is in line for $170,544,958 in funding, half of which is to be applied directly to assistance efforts for students confronting emergency expenses in the face of the public health crisis.
“The coronavirus has upended the lives of students across our state,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “These funds will provide targeted relief to students, and longer-term assistance to our colleges and universities, to help them weather this storm.”
Students enrolled in University System of Maryland institutions are to receive a combined $40,253,827; other public university students will collect $6,222,058; community college students will be awarded $26,942,996 in aid; and private, non-profit school students will net $11,351,623 in assistance.
The state’s HBCUs will see $11,065,055 in assistance from this pot of money. The news release said that additional “dedicated assistance” for HBCUs and minority serving institutions has been allocated under the CARES Act, as well, and will be announced soon.
The remaining half of the fund is for other incurred costs higher education institutions may be facing. According to a news release, universities and colleges will receive guidance from the Department of Education about how to use this funding.
Under the recently passed package, the state is also poised to receive over $742 million in funding through the Public Health and Social Services Emergency Fund for hospitals and health care workers who are providing the brunt of the costs for the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than $48 million to support local municipalities throughout the duration of the crisis.
Hannah Gaskill
Reporter
Hannah Gaskill was a reporter for Maryland Matters. She left the publication in May 2022. Gaskill received her master’s of journalism degree in December 2019 from the University of Maryland. She previously worked on the print layout design team at The Diamondback, reported on criminal justice in Maryland for Capital News Service and served as a production assistant for The Confluence — the daily news magazine on 90.5 WESA, Pittsburgh’s NPR member station. Gaskill has had bylines in The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post and The Chicago Tribune, among other publications. Before pursuing journalism, she received her bachelor’s of fine art degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. She grew up in Ocean City.
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