DECEMBER 5, 2022 — UTSA dispersed $4.2 million to support 7,120 Roadrunners enrolled for the fall 2022 semester. The funding comes from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), a federal program designed to provide emergency financial aid grants to students who have faced significant unexpected expenses and are experiencing financial hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This latest round marks the end of HEERF funding.
The HEERF program was established through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed by Congress on March 27, 2020, to provide fast and direct economic aid to the American people negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. HEERF was specifically set up to provide emergency financial aid grants to college students experiencing financial strains.
In total, UTSA allocated $94.5 million in funding to help 37,733 students with the cost of tuition, food, housing, technology, health care, child care and course-related expenses.
“The HEERF funds provided to our students have been an invaluable source of assistance during a very difficult time,” said Lynn Barnes Jr., UTSA senior vice provost for strategic enrollment. “The additional financial assistance to help students stay enrolled and support educational expenses related to the pandemic has made a real impact.”
The support offered through these funds have helped UTSA maintain its upward trajectory even through the pandemic. Enrollment at the university is up 5% from pre-pandemic figures, and in the last five years, the number of degrees awarded by UTSA has grown 16%.
UTSA also used CARES Act funding to provide training and support to the university’s instructors on strategies to effectively teach in online, in-person, or hybrid learning environments. Additionally, the university invested in improvements to campus resources that help students be successful in and out of the classroom.
“We are grateful for the opportunity to support our diligent students who persisted in their educational goals despite the challenges caused by the pandemic,” said Kimberly Andrews Espy, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “As a result, UTSA students have continued forging new paths towards their future careers and brighter futures for us all.”
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Come celebrate the doctoral students graduating this commencement season.
H-E-B Student Union Ballrooms, UTSA Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and College of Sciences.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203Celebrate the accomplishments of the graduates of the Carlos Alvarez College of Business, College of Education and Human Development, Margie and Bill Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St, San Antonio, TX 78203First Friday Stargazing gives anyone free access to the night sky using university telescopes and teaching equipment. Weather permitting, experienced astronomers will provide a handful of telescopes of varying designs, give training on how each operates, and point to various astronomical objects that may appear in the sky for that given time of the year. If you have a telescope and do not know how to operate it, feel free to bring it and get instructions on its use.
4th Floor of Flawn Science Building, Main CampusThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
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The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to ending generations of discrimination and inequity. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
