More than $4 million in federal funding is coming to Cabrillo College from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ━ and at least half the money will go directly to students to help them cover expenses and finish their coursework.
“Our students are telling us they are living day to day,” said Cabrillo Superintendent and President Matt Wetstein. “Many of them have lost their jobs. They are struggling to make ends meet. They are accessing online courses via WiFi in our parking lots. Any relief money that we can pass through the college and get into their hands will be put to good use as they work to complete the semester.”
He said staff are working to design a process that gets money to deserving students as quickly as possible, hopefully before April 30.
The CARES Act, signed March 27 by President Trump, is designed to give higher education institutions across the U.S. the support they need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the countywide and statewide “shelter in place” orders were issued in mid-March, shuttering non-essential businesses, Cabrillo College had to change all of its in-person classes and labs to an online format. Faculty, staff and administrators had to adapt the new modality, and had to get laptops, WiFi access and emergency grants to students who did not have computers at home.
Cabrillo bought 700 Chromebooks to loan to students who needed devices to complete their coursework online. Thanks to generous local private donors, the Cabrillo College Foundation provided 307 emergency grants of $500 to students in need. However, much student need still remains, with requests for help exceeding the funds available.
UC Santa Cruz is in line for $19.3 million from the CARES Act, CSU Monterey Bay $8.5 million, Hartnell College, $3.6 million, Monterey Peninsula College, $2.4 million, and Gavilan College, $2.3 million.
On April 8, Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Carmel Valley, co-wrote a Congressional letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos asking for swift disbursement of funding to higher education institutions.
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive said, “In the midst of a global pandemic, UC Santa Cruz faculty and staff are performing vital research and testing for COVID-19, all while continuing to instruct students who have had their lives upended by this virus.”