Seton Hall Distributes Nearly $3M in Emergency Aid to Students in Need
Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Commonly referred to as the CARES Act, the legislation provided funding by the U.S. Department of Education to the University through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Half of the entirety of the funding to Seton Hall ($5,749,918), is earmarked for direct student aid.
"Although we were given a year to distribute this money, we've worked hard to mobilize and distribute this funding to our students as quickly as possible in the midst of the pandemic," said Javonda Asonte, director of the Financial Aid Office and Student Affairs Emergency Fund Committee member. "Team members literally worked around the clock to get this and other monies raised for the Student Emergency Relief Fund into the hands of our community members in need. In times of trouble, Pirates have always come together, and that's just what we did here."
As part of the CARES Act, Seton Hall is required to report and publish its distribution of funding first at 30 and then 45 day intervals after initial receipt. At this first 45 day mark, June 27, the University reports that more than 95 percent of the federal distribution has been made ($2,731,439.34), leaving only $143,520 more to distribute to students.
In addition to the federal monies, Seton Hall privately raised and is distributing $420,000 to fund student scholarships and for the Student Emergency Fund, which is designed to provide financial relief to students – undergraduate, graduate, student-athletes, seminarians, and law students — enduring unprecedented hardships with costs related to food, transportation, housing, and more.
The other half of the federal grant, $2,874,959, is being used to help offset additional operating expenses incurred by the University in switching first to an entirely online course schedule in the midst of the pandemic and now to the hybrid, flexible (HyFlex) instruction plan that offers both in-person and remote instruction for the Fall 2020 semester.
In addition, refunds to students for room and board as well as parking fees cost the University approximately $9.2 million.
For the upcoming fiscal and school year, the University anticipates an additional revenue deficit of 10 percent.
"The pandemic has been a costly proposition to all Americans, and schools such as Seton Hall are no exception," said University Chief Financial Officer Stephen A. Graham. "We are a student-first University and in response to this crisis we are doing everything we can to shift resources and ensure the availability and continued excellence of a Seton Hall education to our community. To that end, we have also committed significant funding to additional scholarships for the upcoming semester."
Recognizing that many families are struggling with the fiscal impact of the pandemic, the University governing Board of Regents has authorized additional one-time financial aid grant opportunities. The Office of Financial Aid will administer these awards to the neediest students based on requests for special scholarship consideration.
In addition, Seton Hall has committed an additional $200,000 in scholarships for its recent graduates and alumni who wish to pursue a graduate-level education online. The scholarships are being funded through a University grant that applies to a select group of online master's degree programs. This new funding will supplement the substantial scholarship pool that is already allocated to the schools and colleges yearly and is distributed as Dean's Scholarships to eligible students for all graduate degree studies, including online.
"This is an unprecedented time that requires of us a shared sacrifice," said Graham. But we will not sacrifice the quality of a Seton Hall education or our commitment to the students we serve."
Categories: Education
