There have been a lot of questions about how universities can use the CARES Act money. But the rules about how it can be disbursed are pretty rigid, right?

Yes, the rules are very strict. The money is basically divided in half. Half for students. And half for institutions. But it’s more complicated. I’ll explain. At least 50 percent of the money must go to students for emergency cash grants. But it is not simply money for all needy students. It’s very specific. The Department of Education says that money must be “for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus.” This is the DOE guidance. So that could be food. Housing. Technology. Healthcare. Childcare. But it has to be an expense directly related to the campus closure. It is strict. 

For example, if a student’s parents both lost their jobs because of the coronavirus, that’s not necessarily an eligible reason for them to receive money. It has to be campus-closure-related. The federal government says this is about students whose financial situations changed because of the closure of campus. ‘I no longer have my campus job, making expenses harder to cover. I no longer have childcare. I had to buy a computer to do my work, or buy a plane ticket, or pay rent on a house somewhere unexpectedly because I lost my campus housing.’ All those things—housing, travel, only related to the campus closure, are eligible.

OK, that’s for students. What about the other 50 percent of the money BU will get?

The other 50 percent is for institutional purposes. So BU can use it to offset the room and board credits we gave students or for technology investments to make the campus more ready for online learning.

However—and this is important—institutions can also choose to use their institutional money for the students, if they want to. That’s up to individual schools.

Is that something BU is considering, using its institutional dollars for students?

Yes. We are going to make sure the students come first. We anticipate we will use a lot of our institutional funds for students, but if the funding doesn’t run out, it will also be used for technology upgrades to improve remote teaching and learning.

How about the students financially impacted by the coronavirus, but whose situation falls outside the strict eligibility rules about what can be refunded. Will they get any help?

Yes. BU has a standard practice that any student can come to our financial aid office and explain why they would like to request more aid. That remains the case now, and we can tap BU funds to help students who demonstrate a need.

You’ve covered how the CARES Act money has to be used. What are things the money cannot be used for? 

The law says it can’t be used to build an athletic building or as a donation to our endowment, for example. The DOE guidance says we can’t use the money to reimburse the University for emergency grants we have already given to students, like plane tickets to get students home. Also, the DOE guidance has restricted this funding to students eligible for federal financial aid only, but we know that there are many other students impacted by COVID-19.

There was a lot of news about several colleges deciding to not pursue or accept CARES Act money despite being eligible to receive it. Do you know if that was a conversation at BU? 

I was never part of any conversation about not applying for these funds. Our students have real needs. Congress allocated these funds to help students in need and to support online learning, and we want to do those things. It’s their money. They deserve to get this money. And we are going to give it to them.

Can you talk about a timetable? How quickly will BU receive the CARES money and how quickly is it expected to be disbursed?

We have to formally apply for the money, and the Department of Education guidance says it will come within about three days. But we don’t know yet if that’s realistic.