S.C. Colleges & Universities to Receive Assistance From COVID-19 Stimulus Bill

South Carolina colleges and universities will receive more than $100 million in federal emergency funding to help students cover food, housing, healthcare, and childcare costs.

The United States Department of Education released information recently regarding funding allocations for colleges and universities from the CARES Act stimulus package. The guidelines, released Thursday, April 9, outline how nearly $13 billion will be distributed to higher education institutions nationwide.

Limestone College has been allocated $1,322,353.

Using federal data, the Department of Education determined funding allotments by using a formula of Pell Grant students to non-Pell Grant recipients.

In a news release, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said it is mainly up to colleges and universities how the federal funds are distributed to students.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Limestone has waived enrollment deposits for new students and removed financial holds on outstanding balances to help eliminate potential obstacles that could prevent students from returning to campus this fall.

With many federal Pell grant recipients, Limestone College President Dr. Darrell Parker said the College’s Financial Aid team will discuss the best uses for the federal stimulus funding to meet student needs.

“We encourage students to go ahead and fill out their FASFA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) forms if they have not already done so this year,” Parker said. “This will allow us to put together the best financial aid package possible to help make college more affordable. We want to use these federal funds in ways which help as many students as possible.”

(The Gaffney Ledger contributed to this article.)