Governor Mike Parson announced $10 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding for private colleges and universities. He announced approximately $125 million for workforce and higher education initiatives in July, including funds from the Coronavirus Relief Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund in the CARES Act.

A news release says the $10 million funding will reimburse private colleges and universities for expenses incurred in connection with COVID-19, including money spent to bring students back to campus safely and enhance remote learning capabilities. Earlier this year, $113 million of the $125 million issued was for public colleges and universities to address the same issues.

Institutions can be reimbursed for general COVID-19 response and reopening costs, such as PPE for students, faculty and staff, disinfection of public areas, costs to comply with local health orders, expenses associated with quarantine and isolation, COVID-19 testing and telemedicine costs. They also can be reimbursed for expenses related to the expansion of remote learning, such as an increased number of hot spots and Wi-Fi enabled devices available for checkout, expenses to facilitate distance learning, upgrading campus broadband network, and expenses to improve telework capabilities for employees.