On Thursday, March 11, President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 billion COVID-19 relief bill into law. The bill allocates funding for higher education institutions to give to students in the form of emergency financial aid; however, Bluffton University students have not yet received any such funding.
The funding that the university has received thus far from the new relief package has been used to increase on-campus testing volume and make up for revenue lost last semester when students were sent home at the start of the pandemic.
“The funds that are being allocated to Bluffton University are allowing the institution to provide as safe an environment as possible for on-campus learning,” said Art Woodruff, vice president of Fiscal Affairs at Bluffton University. “Testing for COVID-19 has been expensive and by doing these tests, students have been able to learn in the classroom, participate in athletics and continue on with the campus life experience.”
Dale Smith, senior intervention specialist major. Photo by Claire Myree
Dale Smith, senior intervention specialist major, believes that direct payments of emergency relief funds would be beneficial to students. He also believes the university spending the money on COVID-19 safety protocols is necessary even though he wants students to still receive payments.
“Using some of the money to implement safety measures seems necessary,” said Smith. “Many students have personally felt the negative financial impacts of the pandemic which had made it even more difficult to pay for their schooling. Any financial assistance would be very helpful.”
According to Woodruff, the recent relief package does provide funding for students to receive emergency relief funds. However, the distribution or amount of this funding has not yet been finalized.
“There are additional funds in the second relief package that are to be used as emergency relief funding for students,” said Woodruff when asked if Bluffton students should expect to directly receive any money from the university. “This is still being worked on to understand the regulations and how it must be distributed, but that will be happening in the coming weeks with communication to students on what they could expect.”
