Emergency "COVID cash" to colleges set to end June 30th

Colleges and universities have until the end of the month (June 30^th) to use all of the federal COVID-19 relief grants it received, according to a notice published by the Federal Register on April 4.   These funds were distributed to universities during the height of the pandemic to assist with expenses related to remote learning and connectivity, and helping to keep students enrolled, among other things.

In all about $75.3 billion in funds were distributed to colleges and universities nationwide.  FAMU received about $195.4 million in COVID funding.  According records, FAMU spent about $31.3 million to provide direct support (financial aid) to students.  The emergency funding is credited with helping 2 in 3 students remain in college, the federal government says.
 
In 2021 alone, institutions distributed $19.5 billion of emergency funding to 12.7 million students allowing them to focus on their grades during a particularly turbulent time.  On average 80% of Pell Grant recipients received aid an additional $2,000 apiece in COVID funding to assist with college expenses, records show. 
 
Since the early days of the pandemic, however, the federal government relaxed some of the restrictions around the use of the emergency funds (aka HEERF --Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds) which allowed FAMU to use a portion of its funds to purchase three properties --- Citivue at Railroad Square Apartments, Light House at Brooklyn Yards, and 1.3 acres of vacant land which could be used for future development.

With the June 30th deadline rapidly approaching some colleges are left scrambling to allocate the remaining use or loose money by again clearing students balances.