U.S. colleges and universities are bearing a greater financial impact from the coronavirus pandemic than anticipated, education officials say.And they are asking for help.The schools received $2.9 billion in federal support through the FILE – A building at the University of Maryland’s Baltimore campus is seen after sunset, Aug. 19, 2019, in Baltimore.The University of Maryland (UMD) has also taken a hard hit as it faces a $292 million budget cut in the next fiscal year. Some employees will see a salary cut, but those who earn less than $150,000 annually will not face reductions, according to FILE – A view of buildings on the campus of Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pa., July 11, 2012.Scanlon said that while he believes the health of the university community is important, so is weighing costs and benefits.“No matter how you slice it, there’s uncertainty, and there are costs and benefit trade-offs. That sounds perhaps to some a little bit crass, but really trying to weigh the risk, what level of risk may be worth taking, and what are the costs to mitigate that risk,” he said.Scanlon told AJMC that universities and colleges are awaiting more support.“I think a great disappointment from my perspective is sort of the lack of speed of having more guidance, quite frankly, from federal and state level health officials about what to be done, and more specific guidance,” he said.ACE’s Mitchell said he hopes higher education will receive needed funding to support education for jobs that could help a faster recovery from the pandemic.“Our schools train the doctors, nurses and other front-line workers needed to address this unprecedented health crisis and perform the research necessary to produce the urgently needed vaccines and treatments. Finally, our schools educate 26 million students, preparing them to compete and succeed in an increasingly difficult economy, and fueling the path towards a recovery,” Mitchell said in a letter to Congress.
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