The Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund has ceased its distribution of funds to students for the 2022 spring term. The fund began allocating emergency money to students experiencing COVID-19 hardships in fall of 2020, and ran for three consecutive semesters during the pandemic’s initial duration. Students were warned of the potential termination of their emergency funds via an email sent by WSU in August, but now, a large sum of gifted relief is missing for students.
With the fall 2020 term being the first remote semester for many colleges across the country, the response from Congress was to create a fund to assist the students of America. As the pandemic surged through campuses for the entirety of 2021, the funds continued, with a new act passed every semester.
“These funds were granted to WSU as part of relief acts due to the pandemic. So, Congress passed legislation – these acts – to provide national relief. As part of those acts, higher education was one of the areas that received funding,” said Diane Xiong, WSU Vancouver’s director of budget and accounting.
The emergency funds allocated to WSU came from three different acts, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and the American Rescue Plan. The first two acts allocated $10.88 million each to WSU for student-relief funding, while the final act allocated $31.1 million, according to the WSU Student Care Network. Roughly 16% of these emergency funds were distributed to WSU Vancouver.
“Overall, [WSU] gave over $50 million to over 35,000 awards. That does mean some students got more than one [grant]. For WSU Vancouver, we awarded over $8.2 million to over 5,400 [students],” Xiong said.
While Congress failed to pass a fourth act before the spring semester, the financial services office, Xiong says, has been hard at work to make funds available for students who need them.
“At Student Affairs and Enrollment, their team is very vigorous in applying for grants and applying for dollars that are available for students, and trying to find ways to create different kinds of relief,” Xiong said.
According to Domanic Thomas, the vice chancellor of student affairs and enrollment, the university has applied for a Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness grant, which allocates $186,000 in programs, staffing and emergency funding support. On top of that, Thomas says the school is attempting to centralize resources, such as childcare subsidies and the food pantry, to assist students outside the classroom.
For students looking for more information, Xiong and the financial services team recommend visiting the financial aid office to ask questions about receiving additional aid. Students can also visit WSU’s financial aid website to seek information on aid and relief, as well as apply for scholarships through general applications.
Jenny Chambers-Taube, vice chancellor for finance and operations, encourages students to reach out at any time if they need assistance.
“Please let us know if you need help. We do everything we can to help be responsive and to provide information you need. Please don’t be afraid to reach out and let us know what’s happening. We’re here for your success and we’ll always try to find a solution,” Chambers-Taube said.
Even with the pause in funding, financial struggles have certainly not stopped for many students. Although federal emergency funds are no longer allocating money to students, the financial services team may provide options to students who still need help in the absence of Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund assistance.
Andrew is a junior studying English and Digital Technology and Culture at WSU Vancouver.