Earlier this year, Lone Star College received $28 million in federal funding through the CARES Act, and half of those funds had to be given to students for COVID relief. On Wednesday, the college system announced it had officially given away $14.4 million to 18,089 students.
The other half of the funding was dedicated to operational needs having to do with the pandemic. LSC chose to use this funding to purchase laptops for students in need, and purchase PPE for all of the campuses.
“We didn’t really have expectations because we weren’t exactly sure what the enrollment either increase or drop-off would be, just given the uncertainty,” said Kyle Scott, vice chancellor of Strategic Priorities for Lone Star College System.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Education, LSC is ahead of the curve when it comes to distributing their portion of the CARES Act funds.
“We have a very efficient financial aid as well as a research and development office,” Scott said. “Receiving grants isn’t out of the ordinary for us so our procedure for distributing those funds and identifying the students who need those funds is a really well oiled machine.”
The college system saw an increase in student interest for the funds after they were able to get the word out that the funds were not a loan, they did not need to be paid back. Students who needed small grants due to COVID-related issues, such as like childcare or transportation, were granted the funds.
LSC is keeping an eye on what is happening in Washington D.C. regarding possible future funding, but Scott said the college system is not counting on more federal funding.
In addition to the CARES Act funds, LSC has given away $50 million in Pell Grants to over 20,000 students during the past spring and fall semesters.
“We understand how incredibly difficult this year has been for our students,” said Stephen Head, LSC chancellor in a release from the college system. “I am extremely proud of the work done by our employees to not only secure this vital funding, but to ensure it gets to where it’s needed most.”
There are still several ways that LSC can help its students financially even as the CARES Act funding has been distributed, Scott said. There are still around 2,000 laptops to be given away, more Pell Grants, and the LSC Foundation awarded scholarships to 2,242 students totaling $2.1 million in 2019-20.
