SPRINGFIELD – SIU Carbondale is among 21 institutions of higher education receiving a part of $10.5 million in grants through the Governor JB Pritzker’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) program. The governor and the Illinois Board of Higher Education made that announcement Friday.
SIU Carbondale will receive a GEER II Formula Grant for $755,603. No one in our area received a GEER II Competitive Grant Award.
These funds will be used to provide academic and social-emotional learning supports for students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Black, Latino, low-income, first generation, working adult, and rural students. Grants to public institutions were allocated using a formula to ensure equitable distribution, and grants were awarded to non-public institutions through a competitive application process.
These funds will help institutions better support students in their journey toward degree completion by improving the accessibility of academic advising and counseling resources and enhancing the quality of learning through digital tools and educator professional development. Grant funds will also help institutions invest in infrastructure for mental health and wellness by addressing gaps in mental health services on campus and improving the availability of counseling services.
This is the second round of GEER grants to Illinois institutions of higher education to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic. In the first round of GEER grants, 22 institutions were awarded grants, plus the University Center of Lake County, and were in large part used to recruit and retain students most in need.
Formula grants are those that were awarded to the state’s public institutions through a formula to ensure equitable distribution of funds, and competitive grants were awarded to non-public institutions selected through an application and proposal process.