Office of the Secretary of Higher Education to award more than $68 million in governor’s emergency education relief funds to NJ colleges and universities
NEW JERSEY – The Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (OSHE) will award more than $68 million in federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds to New Jersey’s public colleges and universities to help institutions continue providing high-quality educational services to students amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Funding from the U.S. Department of Education through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund provided Governors flexibility through an emergency grant to decide how best to meet the needs of students, schools, postsecondary institutions and other education-related organizations in their states. Given the significant financial burdens that institutions of higher education are facing due to the unprecedented public health emergency, Governor Phil Murphy focused the state’s GEER funds on New Jersey postsecondary institutions.
All eligible public colleges and universities applied and demonstrated a significant need for the GEER funding. Grants to institutions will be based on an OSHE-developed allocation rationale that incorporates priority populations from the New Jersey State Higher Education Plan, “Where Opportunity Meets Innovation: A Student-Centered Vision for New Jersey Higher Education.” This includes institutions’ share of Pell recipients, underrepresented minority and overall enrollments. These priority populations have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and as such, institutions serving larger proportions of these student groups were prioritized. The funding will be divided between New Jersey’s senior public institutions and community colleges.
Institutions can use the GEER funds to support students and faculty for continuity of operations during the period of disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the application, institutions also had to submit a financial impact statement that reflected the period from March 13 to May 30, 2020. Funds must be spent within one year of receipt. Institutions must submit an interim project report within six months of receipt funding award.
A breakdown of GEER fund award allocations by institution is as follows:
- Kean University $4,890,670
- Montclair State University $6,601,209
- New Jersey City University $3,027,474
- New Jersey Institute of Technology $3,166,326
- Ramapo College of New Jersey $1,603,309
- Rowan University $5,300,326
- Rutgers University – New Brunswick $12,731,120
- Rutgers University – Camden $2,166,746
- Rutgers University – Newark $4,323,540
- Stockton University $2,815,904
- The College of New Jersey $1,877,804
- Thomas Edison State University $3,354,942
- William Paterson University $3,512,415
Total Senior Publics: $55,371,785
- Atlantic Cape Community College $500,373
- Bergen Community College $1,124,546
- Brookdale Community College $936,124
- Camden County College $1,006,150
- Essex County College $847,105
- Hudson County Community College $947,744
- Mercer County Community College $668,335
- Middlesex County College $1,052,512
- County College of Morris $587,307
- Ocean County College $757,932
- Passaic County Community College $795,995
- Raritan Valley Community College $645,289
- Rowan College at Burlington County $821,512
- Rowan College of South Jersey $849,808
- Salem Community College $89,945
- Sussex County Community College $186,221
- Union County College $987,312
- Warren County Community College $189,001
Total Community Colleges: $12,993,209
Grand Total, All Colleges $68,364,994
For more information about the GEER funds, visit OSHE’s fact sheet and the U.S. Department of
Education’s website.
