San Jose State President Mary Papazian announced in a campuswide email Thursday that the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act will allocate $28.7 million in emergency funding to the university, half of which will go directly to students.
The $2 trillion coronavirus relief bill, the biggest federal relief bill ever signed into law, is meant to offset the losses Americans are facing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“You just state your reasoning of why you need financial help, whether that’s for food, whether that’s for housing or whether for any other reason,” Associated Students President Branden Parent said in a recent Instagram Live Q&A. “As long as it’s COVID-19 related.”
Through application forms, students must demonstrate that they suffered a loss of income because of COVID-19, which includes prospective work-study opportunities and employment at the university.
Parent went on to say that an application form will soon be made available through SJSU Cares.
Once the SJSU Cares office deems a student eligible for emergency aid, they can receive up to the equivalent amount of this school year’s Federal Pell Grant award – $6,195.
During Wednesday’s A.S. Board of Directors meeting over Zoom, Papazian said SJSU should receive the emergency aid any day now.
“We’re waiting for the money to drop into the accounts, as soon as that happens, we’ll be sending out the information for you,” Papazian said in a video of the meeting provided to the Spartan Daily. “If we have direct deposit information, it will go right into the student’s account.”
She said the university would prioritize full-time students over part-time students and that those who still need more financial assistance after the first cycle of aid drops can request additional assistance.
“The students who are the most needy – and we have those indicators from the financial aid office actually – we’ll have sort of a higher number of dollars they are able to access,” Papazian said.
According to Parent, receiving emergency aid will not impact a student’s existing financial aid, such as current grants, loans and debt status.
“You can decide what you want to spend it on,” he said during the Instagram Live Q&A.
If a student was awarded a Federal Pell Grant, but did not complete the semester because of a COVID-19-related emergency, the semester will not count toward their grant duration limit of 12 terms.
However, the federal government restricted who is eligible to receive grants.
The coronavirus relief bill allocates funds for students who are eligible for federal financial aid under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which includes programs such as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients and undocumented students do not qualify for federal financial aid programs and are not eligible for the emergency grants.
“It definitely sucks,” Parent said during the Instagram Live Q&A. “Right now the university is waiting on more support from the state to see if they can get more help for the students who were left out of the CARES Act, like international students and students who are undocumented.”
Grace Pang, California State Student Association vice president of legislative affairs and a previous Spartan Daily columnist, said she encourages students who do not qualify to still reach out to SJSU Cares, which does not discriminate based on immigration status.
“This exclusion from the federal government is an arbitrary travesty and decision made to marginalize our communities further given many of our undocumented, international and non-qualifying students are most at need for emergency aid right now,” she said.
An estimated $14.3 billion of the coronavirus relief bill was set aside for higher education emergency relief according to the Department of Education, less than 1% of the coronavirus relief bill.
“We all have the right to demand for equitable support services to reach financial mobility, retain in school and have a better future,” Pang said.
Public health senior Michelle Agellon said she would accept whatever funding the university can provide, assuming there is enough for everyone who needs it.
“It would mean a lot,” said the San Jose native. “I have a family of five and having to stay home has meant an increase in food amenities, utilities and other necessities such as medical care and child care.”
Under the coronavirus relief bill , universities are required to allot no less than 50% of funds taken from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund to students.
Papazian stated in her campuswide email that the other half of the funds will be used to “maintain a robust academia, co-curricular, and work environment for all members of our community.”
The coronavirus aid bill also states that all student loans and interest payments will be deferred to Sept. 30 without any consequence to students borrowing from federal student loans.
In a similar declaration, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced on March 25 that the Department of Education
would refund $1.8 billion in loans to more than 830,000 borrowers and release withheld payments from defaulted loans.
“Americans counting on their tax refund or Social Security check to make ends meet during this national emergency should receive those funds,” she stated in an official news release.
Though A.S. President Parent said SJSU is still waiting to receive the federal emergency aid from the coronavirus relief bill, an email will be sent to students with instructions on how to apply for the funds as soon as the university receives the money.
