Wallace Community College will again provide grants to eligible fall semester students whose educations have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The grants are funded through the American Rescue Plan (ARP). The financial assistance does not need to be paid back, and students can apply their grants to any COVID-19-related expenses such as housing, food, medical costs, or child care.
Eligible students impacted by the pandemic and enrolled for the fall semester will be contacted with information about the application process. The ARP grant application will be sent directly to students via their student email.
The money for students comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, which has been allocated to higher education institutions across the U.S. under the Trump and Biden administrations to provide aid to students affected by the pandemic. This is the third allocation of federal pandemic funding that the College has received to support students.
The U.S. Department of Education is directing schools who receive ARP funds to make funding available directly to students affected by the pandemic. WCC’s Financial Aid Office will distribute funds to students using guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Education.
The College expects a substantial number of students will request the pandemic funding since approximately 70% of WCC students currently receive some type of financial aid.
Dr. Anthony Jouvenas, WCC Director of Financial Aid, said that “The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in difficult financial barriers for many of our students, and ARP grants will help reduce the impacts of those barriers.”