Butler County's institutions of higher learning will receive funds through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Officials at both BC3 and Slippery Rock University are now exploring all options and avenues in order to put those funds to the best use.

Half the funds heading to both the county's community college and its four-year university will provide grants for students currently enrolled at the schools.

BC3 President Nick Neupauer explained at the Wednesday board of trustees meeting that the funding for BC3 will be divided into two areas. Half of the $1.9 million allocated to BC3 will cover lost revenue and coronavirus-related expenses incurred by the college, while the other half will provide a grant to every student currently enrolled at the school.

On the other hand, William Behre, president of SRU, said the $7.35 million in CARES funding the university receives will not fully cover the needs of the students or the financial shortfalls experienced by the institution.

Determining student grantsBehre said SRU officials formed a committee to prioritize student needs so the grants will not be random.“I have significant interest in prioritizing needs that might bar a student from continuing their education,” Behre said. “I'm waiting for the committee's recommendation, but I can't imagine they would make a recommendation inconsistent with that.”Behre said because the SRU Foundation took a significant hit in stock market losses resulting from the pandemic, he doubts the entity will be able to help much in filling the gaps between student need and CARE grants.Behre said he hopes to try and match each student grant with students' particular needs.He also hopes to disburse the grants over the summer so students will know what help they have in place before the start of the fall semester.According to Neupauer, distribution of his college's student grants will be through BC3's financial aid office, although the exact date has not yet been determined.Neupauer said the grants can be spent on school-related items like computers, books, supplies, materials, childcare and other school-related expenses.He has not yet decided the exact amount each student will receive because the allocation is so new, but he said only currently enrolled students would receive the grants.Neupauer added that full-time students will likely receive a greater amount than part-time students.

Evaluating financial lossesRegarding the other half of the CARES allocation, Behre said the school's chief financial officer is working to identify coronavirus-related financial damages.“As an institution, our losses are going to be more than the total CARES amount,” Behre said.He said the university's on-campus housing situation is a mess, as students were refunded 50 percent of their housing costs for the current semester.A substantial number of on-campus housing facilities, which are owned by the foundation, are still being financed, Behre said.Paying debt on the student housing in the face of a revenue shortfall will likely cause the foundation difficulty in funding the scholarships normally distributed each year, he said.“That was a substantial loss to us,” Behre said of the refunds.He suspects that all college and university leaders are united in their concern about the pandemic's effect on fall enrollment.“We don't know what the revenue hit will be,” Behre said.Regarding the funds to be used for revenue loss and coronavirus expenses at BC3, Neupauer said the college has seen decreases in the areas of workforce development, lifelong learning, public safety, events management and other areas.“That's lost revenue we attribute to this COVID-19 situation,” he said.He said summer enrollment is down by 16 percent, and that loss can be shored up using the CARES funds.“We are probably doing pretty well compared to our sister institutions (regarding summer enrollment),” Neupauer said. “Most of them are down 20 percent and one is down 40 percent.”He said the time period in which coronavirus expenses and losses can be claimed is the end of January through June 30, and BC3's expenditure of CARES funds will be analyzed by the federal Department of Education.“It is in the best interest of the college to utilize that time period,” Neupauer said. “A crisis like this, for better or for worse, will force the true integrity of an entity in a positive or negative way.”