Video: How Community Colleges Spent Pandemic Relief Funds and What’s Next

The ARCC Network surveyed community colleges in six states to find out how the colleges used their federal pandemic recovery funds and whether the programs and supports they funded succeeded in easing the challenges students faced during the pandemic and keeping them enrolled. The survey also asked how the colleges will fund those programs and supports now that the federal funding is gone.

In general, the colleges said the Higher Education Emergency Relief funding helped the colleges continue operating during the quick pivot to online instruction at the beginning of the pandemic and as tuition revenue fell when enrollment plunged. The funds helped colleges invest in the technology and training needed for online instruction and address other student needs as they emerged, such as for mental health counseling.

In a June 26, 2024 webinar, researchers from the Community College Research Center (CCRC) and the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) discussed the findings and policy implications. A panel of community college leaders talked about their use of the funding and their post-funding plans.

More detail on the findings is available in a report from CCRC that shares the national survey findings and a report from PPIC that explores the survey findings in California.