In March 2020, Congress passed the CARES Act (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act) that provided coronavirus relief funding to higher education, among other things. Through the CARES Act, Stevens received $3,121,706 with a minimum amount to be awarded as Emergency Financial Relief to Students of $1,560,853. Susan Gross, Assistant Vice President for Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions has stated that there is currently no additional CARES Act Relief funding to offer students, and similar amounts of financial help made possible through the CARES Act cannot be guaranteed for the Spring 2021 semester.
On September 11, 2020, President Farvardin informed the Stevens community through an email that $930,000 of the $1.5 million had been disbursed to 776 students. Since then, $500 has been distributed to every student. At this time, Stevens has distributed the remainder of the Student Financial Relief funds to students who requested additional funds.
In regard to financial relief for the upcoming Spring 2021 semester, Gross stated to The Stute, “At this time there is no indication that funding similar to that which was made available through the CARES Act will be available. However, as President Farvardin announced in his September 18th email to the Stevens Community, additional funding was made available for financial aid to assist students who have experienced a drastic change in financial circumstances due to the pandemic.” Gross additionally encouraged students who are experiencing serious financial difficulties to contact the Office of Financial Aid.
In November, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education of New Jersey announced that more COVID-19 funds would be made available to public and independent institutions to offset unexpected costs that resulted from the pandemic. Stevens has applied for $1.6 million from the State of New Jersey’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) since this information was released. If received, this money will not go towards students but rather institutional needs that have been unmet due to the pandemic.
Students who have requested more funds must meet the eligibility criteria for consideration. According to Gross, this means students “must be eligible for Title IV (federal) financial aid, have a current FAFSA on file and submitted all required documentation (if required), and meet federal standards for satisfactory academic progress. Graduate students enrolled in Stevens’ online programs, international and undocumented students could not be considered. Many students who applied that did not receive relief did not meet all eligible requirements.”
Gross added, “Although there is not additional CARES Act Relief funding to offer students, the Office of Financial Aid is holding applications in the case that funding becomes available.”
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