SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — On Monday, Texas State University launched the application for a new financial aid program aimed to help students affected by the coronavirus pandemic. And it’s not alone in providing help for Texas students.
“Seventy percent of our students work and go to school and so we knew many of them would lose their jobs probably due to this crisis,” says university spokesperson Sandy Pantlik.
Through its Bobcat Cares program, the university says $30 million is available for students with expenses caused by COVID-19 campus disruptions.
“Any housing expenses they might have had or food or transportation or any cost for technology if they needed to buy a laptop or anything like that, or course materials,” Pantlik says.
More than half of that money is federal, from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund authorized by the CARES Act.
The rest of it comes from the university’s budget and some philanthropic donors, Pantlik says.
Help is coming across Texas
More relief is coming to universities and their students across Texas, too.
“The impact of the COVID-19 crisis is hard to overstate. This is the greatest disruption to the operation of our Texas campuses since the end of the second world war,” says Harrison Keller, Texas Commissioner of Higher Education.
That’s why the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is also helping launch an emergency aid grant for all colleges in the state.
Keller says the Greater Texas Foundation and Trellis Foundation have already pitched in $700,000 for the program, launched Monday.
He says 14 institutions have already applied within the first few hours of launching and the funds may be processed within a few days.
“Hundreds of thousands of Texas college students have been affected by campus closures and job loss due to the COVID-19 crisis and many of these students are facing housing and food insecurity and they’re at high risk of dropping out of college,” he says.
Pantlik says Texas State University also plans to apply for those funds.
“Without assistance like this, I believe many students would not be able to finish their education and pursue the careers that they’ve dreamed of,” she says.
Right now, Keller says colleges are divided into three cohorts based on how man students are eligible for federal Pell Grants.
“That gives us an idea about the percentages of low income students who are served by different campuses and that gives us a starting point to be able to prioritize.”
You can contribute to the fund by clicking here.
Additional help from TXST
- Texas State University has also expanded its tuition-free Bobcat Promise program: Freshmen students from families with an adjusted gross income of up to $50,000 are now eligible for free tuition. Previously, that income level was set at $35,000.
- Texas State is using $5 million of its budget to give all students in summer classes a one-time emergency grant equal to $50 per credit hour up to $600 across both summer sessions.
- “For students currently enrolled in the spring semester, the university is issuing more than $10 million in pro-rated refunds and credits for on-campus housing for those who moved from university residence halls to slow the spread of the coronavirus, parking fees, and dining. In addition, students employed through the Federal and State Work Study programs who have been unable to work onsite or remotely due to the COVID-19 situation will receive emergency grants,” said the university in a press release.
- For fall 2020 students, the university has a new Bobcats to Bobcats scholarship fund, opening up $1 million to help students pay for tuition and fees.
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