You have /5 articles left.
Sign up for a free account or log in.
Eighty-four higher education organizations signed and sent a letter Friday to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reiterating a request for an additional $46.6 billion for institutions and their students to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
A first letter, signed by 40 organizations, that detailed the request was sent April 9. Institutions were given roughly $14 billion from Congress by the CARES Act, passed in March, with roughly $6 billion required to be given directly to students in need.
"Recent surveys conducted by several higher education associations indicate that the $46.6 billion estimate is far lower than the actual impact will be," this week's letter said. "For example, in one such survey three-quarters of institutions reported total current-year revenue losses of up to 20 percent, while a smaller percentage, roughly 5 percent, reported even higher losses."
Authors of the letter reiterated their belief that direct distribution to institutions would be most effective.
"We firmly believe that direct distribution to institutions is the best way to ensure that federal funds actually reach the students and schools they were intended to help," the letter said. "Federal support for higher education has historically been used by states to supplement other areas of state budgets, leaving higher education vulnerable to massive cuts in state support and students vulnerable to tuition increases."
Groups that signed the letter include the American Council on Education, the American Association of University Professors, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Common App, Educause, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Several accreditation bodies and state organizations were also among the signatories.
