Assessing the Impact of the CARES Act on Online Students: A Case Study of Two-Year Public College

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made a major impact on higher education and affected students’ livelihoods and attainment of education. To help students during these challenging times the Federal CARES Act was established to provide financial relief and support students in their time of need, However, not all students are eligible to participate and these limitations have impacted funding to specific institutions. The following research study examined the implications of the CARES Act for higher education by assessing the current factors associated with the national funding model. Additionally, three additional models were created to estimate the FTE impact and approximated the financial implications of the Act in relation to the unserved or excluded populations. A survey was conducted to understand current student essential needs and the implications of COVID-19 on their livelihoods. The survey was reverse engineered to understand enrollment patterns to determine the proportionality of needs based on the enrollment patterns.

Keywords: COVID-19, high education, CARES Act, financial impact, student needs, data modeling, government, spending, equity, online students, online education, relief

JEL Classification: I2, I20, I21, I22, I23, I24, I25, I26, I27, I28, I29