Oregon s colleges and universities will get a needed boost from the newest federal COVID-19 relief and omnibus bill signed Dec. 27 by President Donald Trump.
The funds from the Consolidated Appropriations Act s $22.7 billion dedicated to higher education across the U.S. comes at a time when low enrollment and other budget problems are cause for concern for Oregon s higher education institutions.
Oregon s Higher Education Coordinating Commission estimates $224 million will come to the state from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, anticipating $102 million to public universities, $97 million for community colleges and $28 million for private institutions.
But it s not enough to fix the looming budget concerns of many colleges and universities, HECC Executive Director Ben Cannon said.
UNC schools will get millions in COVID-19 funding
Published January 7, 2021
Last week, Congress approved the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, a $2.4 trillion spending package that includes $23 billion in aid for public and non-profit colleges and universities.
The relief package will provide about $286 million in new Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding (HEERF) to UNC system schools. Of that amount, almost $90 million is allocated directly for emergency student aid and about $196 million will go to the institutions themselves. (These figures are estimates created by the Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities.)
In an email to the UNC Board of Governors and campus administrators, UNC System President Peter Hans explained that the aid to universities can be used for various purposes, including:
UF’s Tim Brophy earns high honor for developing and maintaining academic standards
UF Director of Institutional Assessment Timothy Brophy was recognized for his years of excellence in developing and maintaining academic standards by the national accreditation body whose members are primarily higher education institutions in the South.
UF Director of Institutional Assessment Timothy Brophy
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) awarded Brophy the Carol A. Luthman Meritorious Service Award. The award is presented to individuals whose volunteerism and commitment to the best principles of the academy and of accreditation personify the ideals of the Commission. It is named for a former staff member who served the Commission for more than 30 years and who was also staff liaison to the SACSCOC Board.