As colleges and universities reopen nationwide, the economic burden of the COVID-19 pandemic has hampered reopening efforts. For Binghamton University, it has resulted in a $27 million loss.

$25 million of the cost comes from refunding 55 percent of housing and student fees during the spring semester. The remaining $2 million were from additional expenses related to COVID-19, such as cleaning, technology and student isolation costs, according to a Dateline statement released on Monday by BU President Harvey Stenger.

Last April, the U.S. Senate allocated $13.6 million to BU through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Of this $13.6 million, more than $6.8 million are being used by the University to offset the refunds made in the spring to students. However, according to Stenger, the University will still struggle financially despite the CARES Act providing some relief.

“On the negative side, state support is declining,” Stenger wrote. “We have been told to expect a 25 percent cut in state funding this year, or $10 million. We also have been informed that our allocation for last year was retroactively cut about $6 million.”

With a decline in state aid, the University will have a total shortfall of $11 million for this academic year due to decreased registration, housing and fees, such as the intercollegiate athletics fee. To relieve this deficit, deans and divisional leaders should expect a 10 percent decrease in funding for their programs, according to Stenger’s Summer 2020 Quarterly Report.

“In order to cover this, we will continue to keep tight controls on spending, including hiring, and we will draw on University reserves to fill any gaps that remain,” Stenger wrote in the Dateline statement.

This is not the first time the University has experienced financial issues. Last fall, BU lifted a 335 day hiring freeze following financial hardships due to contractual obligations in raising employee wages. When the freeze was lifted, Stenger noted that the University was “not completely out of the woods yet” despite the aid of the State University of New York (SUNY) system and New York state legislature.

Jada Crump, a senior majoring in mathematics, said she is concerned about the University’s finances.

“As a student, I definitely feel a bit worried about the financial situation of [BU], though I know many colleges are probably in our same position,” Crump wrote. “I’m not sure how much exactly we have in reserves, but I’m hoping that will help us for the near future.”

The BU Foundation does have an endowment that, as of June 2019, has more than $117.3 million in net assets. However, only $4.8 million of that is unrestricted by the donor, leaving little for the University to spend from that money.

The other $6.8 million from the CARES Act was set to be allocated to students in financial need. The eligibility of these students was calculated by the amount received through an individual’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in their Pell Grants.

According to the Office of Financial Aid, more than 4,700 students are eligible for coronavirus relief funding. Of those eligible, a majority were picked to receive the first round of funding with awards ranging from $750 to $2,500. Those included in this first and subsequent rounds of funding were prioritized by using the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) calculated by the students’ FAFSA.

In the second round, eligible students had from June 17 to July 1 to apply to receive awards of up to $500. By June 29, the Office of Financial Aid had distributed more than $5 million to 3,946 students. The third round of distributions will occur this fall semester for new FAFSA filers. If a student is eligible for CARES Act funding, they will receive an email from the Office of Financial Aid.

A student who wished to remain anonymous received close to $950 from the CARES Act funding, which they used to purchase food and upgrade her internet at home. They said the allocation was insufficient.

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I feel like the half of spring semester was such a mess, and they should have just refunded everything, including tuition,” they wrote. “Nobody learned anything from ‘Zoom University,’ and everyone was worried about their health and financial situation, and the school did little to alleviate that. All they wanted to do was capitalize, and that is what they are continuing to do right now by bringing students back to campus.”

According to Stenger, the BU Foundation’s Fund for Excellence raised $135,000 for students struggling due to COVID-19. $50,000 of that was matched by a grant from State University of New York (SUNY) and was allocated to the Student Emergency Fund, a financial assistance grant for students with unforeseen financial struggles. Students can apply with the Office of the Dean of Students where each student’s grant will be determined on a case by case basis.