Student Assistance Update: Montgomery College Has Provided Approximately $137,000 in Assistance to Students in Need

Media Contacts: Marcus Rosano, 301-525-5283; Vanessa Zambrano, 240-567-9186

To directly address the hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College and the Montgomery College Foundation allocated over $550,000 to assist students. To date, Montgomery College has delivered over 300 awards totaling roughly $137.000, made up largely of laptops, software, and food assistance. The College has received over 738 requests for student assistance.

The reallocated funds are from the cancellation of college-sponsored events, including commencement, transferred to a scholarship and grants account within the College’s operating budget. The account is used solely to assist students with tuition, fees, books, supplies and/or technology. The Foundation is also allocating restricted and unrestricted funds to provide assistance to students in need during the pandemic.

Here is a roundup of the progress so far:

• The Montgomery College Foundation has received over 738 student requests for assistance, with over 300 awarded so far, totaling approximately $137,000;
• MC’s SHAW Center staff delivered unclaimed food packages to Progress Place, which serves people without homes in Silver Spring;
• Student log-ons to Blackboard Learn last week rose 27 percent over the second week in March;
• Similarly, Blackboard Learn log-ons by faculty last week jumped 30 percent over the second week in March;
• Last week Blackboard single day users averaged 2,060 for faculty and 22,533 for students.

As Montgomery College has been working on getting both faculty and students set up for remote work, the College has also been helping people get the food they need. MC delivered 131 food packages to MC students last Monday, March 23, across all campuses. Arrangements were made for the drop-off of 100 more packages to food-insecure students.

For more information on what Montgomery College is doing for its students and any updates, visit the coronavirus website.