Jill Biden and Cardona tout COVID-19 spending for higher education despite enrollment drop

First lady Jill Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona trumpeted the Biden administration's efforts to funnel billions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds to higher education in a briefing with reporters Wednesday.

Biden and Cardona outlined how the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, or HEERF, had provided an estimated 18 million students with financial aid support since the beginning of 2021 and that the funds had especially benefited historically black colleges and universities, or HBCU, and universities designated as "Minority Serving Institutions."

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"When my husband, President Biden, took office, he made a promise to rebuild the middle class," the first lady told reporters on the briefing. "He understood that community colleges are one of the best ways to do just that, and that's why he made sure that the American Rescue Plan provided billions of dollars for students."

The briefing came ahead of the release of a Department of Education report that detailed how the billions of dollars allocated to the HEERF had been spent. The administration said the majority of the funds went directly to student financial aid and that more than 1,400 institutions had used $1.5 billion in funds to discharge the outstanding balances of students.

© Provided by Washington Examiner First lady Jill Biden participates in a roundtable discussion about military spouse employment in Fort Drum, New York, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. The visit is part of Biden's Joining Forces initiative to support military and veteran families, caregivers, and survivors. Adrian Kraus/AP

The report says that 450,000 students at HBCUs received aid from the fund. In 2021 alone, $19.5 billion in federal emergency grants were allocated to some 13 million students.

"We're thankful that the American Rescue Plan dollars have helped students continue chasing their dreams," Cardona said. "The report released today offers the clearest picture yet of how colleges and universities use HEERF dollars to get help to the students most in need. It helps paint a picture of what was happening in our country and how students benefited."

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Despite the billions of dollars disbursed by the federal government to assist higher education during the pandemic, postsecondary education continues to suffer from declining enrollment, a trend that predated the pandemic but was accelerated during it.

In October, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center estimated that enrollment in higher education declined by just over 1% in the fall of 2022 despite hopes that a largely normal school year would bring about a bump in enrollment, as students who had declined to attend college during the pandemic returned to the classroom.

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Tags: Biden Administration, Miguel Cardona, Jill Biden, Higher Education, Coronavirus

Original Author: Jeremiah Poff

Original Location: Jill Biden and Cardona tout COVID-19 spending for higher education despite enrollment drop