(A photo of a deserted campus at Fordham University in New York)
Congress has recently formed a bill, that has been passed by the Senate and will most likely be passed by the House on Friday, that provides $14 billion to colleges and universities. This will create a $30.75 billion education stabilization fund for all levels of education, but falls short of the $50 billion that many higher education leaders claim they need. This money would be used to help with the cost of student housing, as many students left their colleges to return home, technology for digital learning, and the salaries of the staff and faculty, some of which are out of jobs with the closure of the schools. Tens of millions of dollars have already been spent to deal with theses issues, also impacting college admissions as the cost for fall tuition at these colleges is unpredictable with the amount of changes. Not only is the stimulus bill critical for small, independent institutions who do not receive a lot of government support, but also the larger institutions who find it hard to charge $50,000 for tuition when the classes are online. Overall, the colleges and universities are struggling with having to increase expenditures on maintaining school life digitally, while at the same time having a drastic reduction in revenue.
I believe the stimulus bill is a good start to helping fund the colleges and universities that are struggling with paying for the costs of maintaining the school, but I also find that it may not be enough. There are many employees who are now out of jobs with schooling being done online, and while I believe they should continue being paid as they may have no other source of income, I can see how this would put a large strain on the colleges' already thinning budget.
Questions:
1. Do you think Congress is providing enough aid to schools and/or other facilities affected by the virus?
2. How will the shortage of school funding affect seniors or others planning on going to college?
3. How do you see Congress reacting to institutions arguing they aren't getting enough funding? Do you believe they'll take further action to appease these views?
Congress is clearly not providing enough aid to schools as there are schools now excepting less people in order to keep themselves financially stable. Notre Dame de Namur, a university near by has decided that they will not allow new incoming freshmen for their summer and fall semesters of the 2020 -2021 school year. This definitely will effect senior as the schools are shrinking the number of admitted students by a large amount. I hope congress takes further action otherwise we may say lots of more schools following Notre Dame de Namur at this rate.
ReplyDeleteIt has really been a shock to see the enormous economic impact that this novel coronavirus has had on many of the world’s economies as the problems with this pandemic have played out. While I am not quite sure about the amount of money that is needed to keep these educational institutions afloat, I do believe that this bill was a good decision. Education is often referred to as a key part to society, therefore it would only be right to offer support to them in these challenging times. However, it is also important to remember that the educational institutions are not the only ones being affected by this. Restaurants and small businesses, in particular, are at quite the loss as to how they might still provide for their employees and stay afloat.
ReplyDeleteI think Congress has tried to do their absolute best to provide schools with enough funding to keep themselves going. Unfortunately, the quick spread of Coronavirus caught everyone off guard and now people must scramble to try and save money and prepare for income losses in the near future. The result of such a confusing and immediately change to life is going to affect so many senior students and current college students. As we know, the college admissions process is not only based on merit, but also money. With so many people losing money due to the decreasing economy, I think we will see a huge increase in the number of students attending public schools (including state schools, community colleges, etc.) and a smaller yield rate at private institutions. I think these schools are going to be the most affected by the Coronavirus as student payment was one of their main sources of revenue. It will definitely be interesting to see how this virus will affect incoming and current college students and hopefully it won’t deter anyone from choosing a school simply because it is now unaffordable.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I struggle to have sympathy for most colleges and universities during this crisis. Most have charged and will continue to charge extremely high tuition to their students. Many also have a large endowment saved away for rainy days, such as right now. As a result I believe that most will easily survive this crisis. Right now it is best to focus on the average person who just lost their job due to COVID-19.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think Congress has the ability to provide enough aid for schools and other facilities. Their main focus should be to ensure everyone has access to basic needs and all efforts are put into preventing further spread of the virus. Workers need to be able to go back to work and students need to be able to go back to school for money to start flowing again. This should be a time for all institutions to come together and help end this pandemic. If we can get over this, all institutions will be able to get money and we can be on the road to recovery sooner.
ReplyDeleteI a full forward with Neel's comment regarding the shift in population to public schools due to this economic shift. What I do expect in the future or even very soon, is the adaptation of colleges and universities in attempt to balance this shift. As Lewis mentioned above, a school such as Notre Dame, and now Mercy are struggling. This is true, but if we are truly concerned about the wealth gap increasing the education gap, I don't think it will be as severe, and that the schools which have the funds, will use it. Our society has placed a lot of emphasis on the lack of affordable education especially that of "prestige" so I think if these schools don't change, they will recieve significant backlash.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andres in that colleges and universities should not be our biggest concern right now. Most colleges charge ridiculous amounts of tuition and people still have to pay their tuition for online classes, so colleges are still earning money while small businesses are having to close and earning no income. While I think it is important to provide aid to faculty affected by the virus, I think Congress has provided enough aid to schools and needs to provide aid elsewhere. Congress should focus on the many people who are unemployed and lacking necessities right now.
ReplyDeleteI think Congress could definitely give more to colleges than what they already have were it not for the fact that they’ve allocated the funds that could be going to public infrastructures like colleges to the military. I can’t see Congress offering more financial aid unless protests for more aid become a huge news topic. I think more high school seniors will have to experience a gap year between high school and college so that the universities can recover from this loss.
ReplyDeleteI think Congress hasn't helped colleges enough, but I also don't think universities are of paramount concern to most Americans at the moment. Personally, I'm more concerned with how people are going to feed themselves and their families during this pandemic without jobs.
ReplyDeleteI think both public and private universities do not need more help. They already get large amounts of money and donations from their students through tuition and other ways of collection. People who are in low income areas and heavily affected locations should receive more help right now.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that while helping college might be a goal, it should definitely not be the government’s top priority. The money allocated for the schools could be used to help people in desperate need such as people who have no income because of the shutdowns. Additionally, private and public universities already charge a lot of money for tuition so they don’t need any more.
ReplyDeleteI think Congress could do more to help the schools, but it is also important to keep in mind that schools/universities are not alone in being impacted by the coronavirus. Workplaces, businesses, hospitals, and individual people's jobs have been negatively affected by this virus as well - they also need to be taken into account. In terms of the shortage of school funding potentially affecting those who will be starting college, I think that it will impact them to a certain extent; however, only for a temporary length of time. Eventually, the number of people and locations affected by this virus will decrease and the world will recover. Also, in relation to the response of Congress from these universities as a result of the lack of funding they are receiving, I don't think a reaction will make much of a difference - especially currently, in these circumstances. Until matters die down, I don't think the government (Congress) will respond much to the issue.
ReplyDeleteI agree that helping colleges and universities is a good idea but it should definitely not be the government’s priority right now considering the shortage of testing kits and other things. That money should be given to the hospitals or be used to provide masks for people. It could also go to the people that aren’t making money right now because of quarantine.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Andres in his lack of sympathy towards colleges. Colleges charge an obscene amount for tuition, and are run by wealthy white people who, frankly, do not need help during this time. I do however feel for their employees, many of whom have been laid off and largely forsaken by the universities. I don't think that Congress should provide more aid to colleges, but rather to the average American, including those laid off by the colleges. I think that seniors going to college will definitely be impacted, as college prior to this pandemic was already tough enough to pay for, but with the current additional financial hardships most people are going through due to the virus, college might become out of the question entirely.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think this will be enough aid for schools, as the article says many colleges and universities are receiving about a third of what they had been asking for. However, almost every industry is in need of a bailout and the government can only give out so much money. Congress will probably tell these institutions arguing they aren’t getting enough funding, that no one is getting enough funding and they have to prioritize.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that this could affect the benefits of the school(s) that seniors chose to apply to because the school(s) could have originally sold the prospective students on things like like outdoor programs or 1:1 tutoring etc. I would hope that Congress could support the colleges and the lost funds. However, I also notice that there are bigger things that need the monetary attention of Congress during these times, but maybe later on they might be able to help relieve colleges and their programs.
ReplyDeleteI feel the bill is better than the universities not receiving any money at all, based on the tendencies of the current administration. Many, including myself, continue to be stunned by this coronavirus situation, and every industry is feeling the effects. It probably isn't enough money for the universities, but most universities are incredibly overpriced and will likely still be able function. While education is certainly important, there are others that are in need of it more, and I believe the main focus for funds should be towards hospitals, medical supplies, and those who have been displaced from their jobs. The faster we can treat individuals, the faster universities can resume normal operations. The price of tuition could potentially increase, but I feel there would be a public outcry against it.
ReplyDeleteI think that although the bill will definitely help in colleges and universities in some way, it will probably not be enough to support their expenses as of now due to the coronavirus. It is also understandable from the government's side that they are providing what they can to the universities and their systems considering the fact that they have other places to fund that require more attention. Even though, this virus has definitely been taking a toll on the whole nation, let alone the world, I think that the government is doing what it can as more attention needs to be pointed at funding medical supplies and hospitals.
ReplyDeleteI think in a time like such where funds are going everywhere, it is good that the government can make room for colleges. I can see how it is difficult to meet their request of $50 billion when we may spend $2 trillion on a stimulation bill. I am not sure of the economic situation of some colleges, but I definitely agree that smaller colleges may struggle. I think aid that takes form of a regressive tax model would be beneficial, so that smaller colleges receive more aid proportional to their size or overall assets, but this may already be the case if all colleges divide the stabilization fund evenly.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that Congress is funding schools and other facilities enough. The current aid promised is not enough to maintain all the facilities of all the schools throughout the nation. However, we are in the middle of a pandemic, and it is reasonable to assume that every party will suffer losses. Thus it is the job of Congress to allocate funds to combat the spread of the coronavirus first to make sure that when they do provide aid, it will not go to waste if the coronavirus keeps spreading. The best plan for Congress currently is to push funding into companies that are actively fighting the virus, and do damage control later.
ReplyDeleteGiven the current situation, I think that any money that is being provided to universities is helpful; however, I do see how some may think it is not enough. As others have already stated, some universities are overpriced and could definitely find ways to continue schooling online. On top of that, I agree that funding for education is important, but there are other things that should be more prioritized above education. This includes things such as funding for medical supplies in hospitals, especially given the fact that there are more patients needing treatments now than before. Congress ultimately gets to make the decision about providing more funding, but I think that any additional funding should go to other things that are more important.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is helpful to provide colleges and universities with funds in times like these, but there are other things that the government should be focused on that are more pressing. I do not believe that the aid provided by Congress is enough, but it will help at least a little bit. I believe that a school funding shortage will affect seniors planning to go to college by possibly increasing tuition or giving out less scholarship money. Right now, I do not believe that Congress will respond to the institutions complaint about not getting enough funding because they are focused on other things. I think it will be addressed in the future.
ReplyDelete