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Bradley Eligible For $4.2M in Federal Aid, But Uncertainty Clouds Picture

Bradley University is eligible for up to $4.2 million in financial help through the federal CARES Act. But there's still a lot of uncertainty on when and how that money may benefit the institution and its students.

That's according to university spokeswoman Renee Charles.

"While we have been approved for $2.1 million to go to students, we're still trying to determine how our students will actually get that money," she said.

The approved funding is for students eligible for federal financial aid to use for pandemic-related costs through the U.S. Department of Education's Higher Education Relief Fund. Those rules and regulations are still in flux.

"It's not as if students will get a stimulus check like a lot of Americans have received. They actually will have to apply to receive any of that $2.1 million in funding," she said.

Another $2.1 million could go Bradley University for future institutional costs, but it couldn't be used to blunt the $5 million financial hit the university sustained in lost room and board fees when campus was closed after spring break.

Other schools in Central Illinois are also eligible for money from the Higher Education Relief Fund:

  • Black Hawk College: $2,172,992 
  • Carl Sandburg Community College: $1,175,052 
  • Illinois Central College: $3,704,633
  • Knox College: $1,328,070
  • Monmouth College: $1,069,404 
  • Spoon River Community College: $617,648
  • St. Francis Medical Center School of Nursing: $318,356

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Tim Shelley is the News Director at WCBU Peoria Public Radio.