Eastern Gateway Launches Free ‘Summer Guarantee’
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio — Eastern Gateway Community College today launched the “EGCC Summer Guarantee,” which will allow students to take their summer semester classes with no out-of-pocket costs, including tuition, fees and books.
For new, continuing and returning students who reside in the college’s service district (Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana and Jefferson counties), the program will be a last-dollar scholarship that will cover students’ out-of-pocket costs after Pell Grants and other financial aid eligibility is determined. It is also available to students who are enrolled at another college or university, but are back home in the service district for the summer.
“The federal stimulus bill, the Cares Act, provided funding to colleges to help cover the costs of transitioning to online learning during the coronavirus pandemic and to ensure students continue to receive their education, especially those students facing economic hardship,” said Interim President Michael Geoghegan, in announcing the program. “As many other community colleges across the country have been hit hard by the sudden disruption of COVID-19, Eastern Gateway Community College’s national leadership in online learning provided some stability and continuity for our on-campus students.”
Before the full-scale conversion to distance learning in response to COVID-19, 88% of EGCC students were taking at least one online course. While disruption to campus operations was significant, just a small percentage of the community college’s courses were unable to transition because of the laboratories and clinicals that require in-class participation.
To be eligible for the EGCC Summer Guarantee, students imust have completed a 2019-2020 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and submitted an EGCC online application available here. Summer courses begin June 1.
Eastern Gateway Community College will receive just under $1 million in funding through the Cares Act to support students after academic disruption as a result of COVID-19. In addition to tuition assistance, the federal legislation provided funding for direct assistance to students to remove barriers to continuing their education. Eastern Gateway Community College is reviewing guidance and will provide additional information as it becomes available.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
