NASFAA COVID-19 News Coverage

• Report Finds Underlying Trends Imposing ‘Hard’ Realities in Higher Ed
  June 2, 2020 - While COVID-19 has beset the higher education community with a number of pressing challenges, a new report has highlighted noteworthy trends that have been causing significant long-term disruptions for institutions. But many of those di...
• Rep. Shalala Addresses Federal Higher Education Policy in Post-COVID World
  June 1, 2020 - The long-lasting and deep impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will have on federal higher education policy cannot be understated, said Rep. Donna Shalala (D-Fla.) Friday during a conversation hosted by Third Way, a center-left think tank....
• ED Urges Court to Toss out Challenge to Aid Distribution, Pledging Additional Guidance
  May 28, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) is urging a judge to disregard a lawsuit filed by the California Community Colleges System over eligibility requirements related to disbursement of funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Se...
• Deferments, Gap Year Programs: Uncharted Waters for Students and Schools in a Coronavirus Landscape
  May 27, 2020 - As colleges and universities begin to plot out the logistics of a fall semester, it’s unclear whether incoming students will defer enrollment. But even for students who opt to delay their higher education, filling in that time cou...
• Panel Discusses State Budget Challenges for Higher Ed in the Wake of Coronavirus
  May 21, 2020 - In a webinar hosted by the Bipartisan Policy Center on Wednesday, a group of higher education experts outlined approaches to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on state higher education budgets, and highlighted potential policy options as ...
• In Reversal, ED Will Not Enforce Title IV Eligibility for CARES Act Student Grants, Still Excluding DACA Students
  May 21, 2020 - After facing heavy criticism over guidance that would limit federal emergency student grants to those eligible to receive Title IV aid, including critique from NASFAA, the Department of Education (ED) late on Thursday pulled an about-fa...
• Student Lawsuits Seeking Refunds of Tuition and Fees Grow in Popularity. But Is There a Case?
  May 19, 2020 - “I didn’t pay to attend Zoom” has become a common refrain heard from disgruntled students in online petitions and on social media, as they are forced to finish the academic year from home with virtually every college c...
• Until SCOTUS Acts, Financial Aid for DACA Students Largely Left Up to the States
  May 18, 2020 - The spring was slated to be a consequential season for individuals in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — and that was before the health pandemic, which has now brought an added economic strain on the popul...
• House Democrats' Newest COVID-19 Relief Bill Includes Additional Reporting Requirements
  May 15, 2020 - House Democrats unveiled their newest proposal for the next phase of coronavirus relief on Tuesday, dubbed the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. This new proposal calls for additional reporting requi...
• NASFAA Members Say ED Guidance Delayed Ability to Disburse CARES Act Student Grants
  May 15, 2020 - Higher education institutions are still struggling to disburse emergency aid grants to students allocated in the last federal coronavirus relief package, largely attributing their issues to confusing and inconsistent guidance from the D...
• ED Releases Additional COVID-19 Guidance on Distance Education Flexibility, R2T4, Campus-Based Aid
  May 15, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) on Friday released an electronic announcement detailing additional COVID-19 regulatory flexibilities, including those related to return of Title IV (R2T4) funds, satisfactory academic progress (SAP), and...
• ED’s Decision to Send Last of CARES Act Funding to Small Schools Draws Ire
  May 14, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) late last month began allocating roughly $350 million set aside in the federal stimulus package to help colleges most impacted by the novel coronavirus in a way that ensured every eligible higher-educati...
• Decision Day Still Looming as Viral Outbreak Delays College Admissions Process
  May 14, 2020 - When it comes to the academic calendar, the only certainty left in the wake of the novel coronavirus is that this current year is coming to a close. What that means for the fall semester has left students and admissions offices guessing...
• California Community Colleges Sue ED Over Emergency Aid Eligibility Requirements
  May 13, 2020 - The California Community Colleges system has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education (ED) in response to its recent guidance on distributing emergency grant funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (C...
• House Democrats’ Latest COVID-19 Relief Package Would Direct $37 Billion More to Higher Ed
  May 12, 2020 - House Democrats on Tuesday released another sweeping COVID-19 relief package with plans to consider and advance the measure as soon as Friday. The $3 trillion package would, among other things, direct more than $37 billion to higher edu...
• Should Wealthy Universities Use Their Endowments During the Pandemic? It’s Not That Simple.
  May 7, 2020 - As the Department of Education (ED) continues to issue guidance on how to distribute funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the issue of large endowments has come into focus, with wealthier i...
• FAFSA Renewal Declines Have More Than Doubled Since Before Pandemic
  May 7, 2020 - There has been a substantial drop in FAFSA renewals compared to this time last year, according to an analysis of federal data from the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), which showed the 2020-2021 aid cycle’s declines in ...
• Vehicles for Higher Education Act Rewrite Narrow as Congress Develops More Aid Packages
  May 6, 2020 - The novel coronavirus pandemic is forcing Congress to sort through what its daily operations will look like as lawmakers continue to assess the health and safety risks around in-person negotiations, further limiting the legislative rout...
• ED’s Internal Watchdog Releases Plan to Oversee Billions in COVID-19 Relief Funding
  May 6, 2020 - The Department of Education’s (ED) internal watchdog publicly released a plan Tuesday detailing how it will provide oversight as ED allocates more than $30 billion it was tasked with disbursing under the federal COVID-19 relief pa...
• ED Releases Interim Reporting Guidelines for Student Portion of the CARES Act Emergency Relief Fund
  May 6, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday released reporting guidelines for institutions that have received the student portion of their Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) allocation, which will be used to make emergency...
• ED OIG Coronavirus Relief Oversight Plan
  May 5, 2020 - U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General Coronavirus Relief Oversight Plan ED OIG will help oversee more than $30 billion awarded to the U.S. Department of Education for the following. • $16.8 billion for State and lo...
• Consumer Groups Sue DeVos Over Student Loan Wage Garnishment
  May 4, 2020 - Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is facing allegations that the Department of Education (ED) is continuing to garnish the wages of borrowers who have defaulted on their federal student loans, according to a new lawsuit. The class action ...
• For Some Financial Aid Offices the Latest Round of Federal Aid Was Not Worth the Political Headache
  April 30, 2020 - As the Department of Education (ED) continues to dole out guidance on how to utilize monies allocated under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, some institutions, facing pressure to abstain from grants due to...
• As COVID-19 Forces Students to Stay Home, Local Colleges Look to Promote Online Coursework
  April 28, 2020 - Schools are now beginning to grapple with how social distancing imposed by the novel coronavirus is going to impact their fall semester, possibly putting universities that rely on a geographically diverse cohort at a disadvantage. With ...
• Status of Higher Education Scholarships in Flux with Coronavirus Outbreak
  April 27, 2020 - As the world of higher education braces for budget cuts and furloughs in the wake of COVID-19, prospective and currently enrolled college students must now grapple with an impending recession that could further dampen their financial pr...
• Is the Pell Grant Reserve Fund in Trouble?
  April 24, 2020 - As millions of families across the country grapple with the financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are concerned that more students becoming eligible for Pell Grants in the fall and coming years could leave the...
• ED Outlines Requirements for CARES Act Emergency Relief Institutional Funds
  April 22, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) announced this week the availability of roughly $6 billion in institutional funds from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) created in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CAR...
• For the Class of 2020, the Coronavirus Poses Amplified Economic Strain
  April 21, 2020 - As college graduates approach what was meant to be their commencement season, they instead find themselves facing an abruptly bleak job market, setting up significant barriers to their economic well-being. With unemployment numbers spik...
• Higher Education Community Pushes for Expanded Student Debt Relief During Coronavirus Pandemic
  April 21, 2020 - NASFAA joined dozens of other higher education groups in signing on to a letter addressed to House leadership urging Congress to provide more financial relief for student loan borrowers adversely impacted by the novel coronavirus, such ...
• ED Releases Further Guidance on Use of CARES Act Emergency Funding for Students, Institutions
  April 21, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) on Tuesday announced that more than $6 billion is now available to institutions as part of the funding allocated in the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), and provided additional guidance on...
• Democrats Call on ED to Issue Updated Guidance to Stop Wage Garnishment of Defaulted Borrowers
  April 20, 2020 - A bevy of Democratic lawmakers signed on to a letter Thursday urging the Department of Education (ED) and Treasury Department to issue new guidance ensuring defaulted student loan borrowers no longer have their wages garnished during th...
• NASFAA Urges Treasury, IRS to Ensure CARES Act Emergency Aid to Students Is Non-Taxable
  April 17, 2020 - Several higher education groups — including NASFAA — have signed on to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig, urging them to ensure the emergency grant ai...
• NASFAA to Maintain Operational Continuity During HQ Closure
  April 16, 2020 - Following federal guidelines to work from home whenever possible for the next 15 days, the NASFAA office has closed until further notice due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. NASFAA has had contingency plans in place for some time to maintain operatio...
• NASFAA Joins in Support of Student Veteran Coronavirus Response Act of 2020
  April 15, 2020 - April 13, 2020 U.S. Senator Jerry Moran U.S. Senator Jon Tester Chairman Ranking Member Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs SR-412 Russell Senate Office Building SR-412 Russell Senate ...
• Tax Break for Employer-Paid Student Loan Contributions in COVID Relief Bill Spurs Debate
  April 14, 2020 - As part of the more than $2 trillion stimulus package passed last month to provide relief amid the pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus, a provision was included to allow a tax break for annual employer contributions toward their em...
• COVID Adversely Impacting High School Seniors’ Outlook on College Enrollment
  April 13, 2020 - A recent batch of polling data has found that the timing of the COVID-19 outbreak is affecting high school seniors' outlook on the college admissions process particularly as families across the country are facing new financial realities...
• Student Debt Relief Gains Bicameral Traction in Congress Amid COVID Outbreak
  April 13, 2020 - As the federal government continues its rollout of financial aid assistance to students suffering in the wake of COVID-19, a bipartisan pair of House members have committed to introducing legislation that would allow college seniors gra...
• Lawmakers Urge ED to Exclude For-Profit Schools From COVID-19 Relief Funds
  April 9, 2020 - A group of Democratic senators sent a letter Wednesday urging the Department of Education (ED) not to deploy a portion of the $14 billion in emergency relief funds included in the third COVID-19 stimulus package to for-profit institutio...
• ED Provides Details on Institutional Allocation for $6 Billion in Emergency Funds for Students
  April 9, 2020 - More than $6 billion in emergency funds to help students impacted by the novel coronavirus will be distributed “immediately,” according to Department of Education (ED) Secretary Betsy DeVos. In a call with stakeholders on Th...
• Cuts Expected for State Higher Education Funding in the Wake of COVID-19
  April 8, 2020 - States aiming to circumvent the havoc that the COVID-19 pandemic will likely have on their annual budgets are looking toward their education departments to soften the blow. Missouri has already frozen millions of dollars to its department of higher e...
• ED Releases Updated COVID-19 Guidance Addressing Verification, Need Analysis, Distance Education
  April 4, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) late on Friday released an updated COVID-19 Electronic Announcement (EA), providing new guidance and flexibilities on verification, need analysis, and distance education. The EA provides some guidance re...
• Consumer Protection Groups on the Lookout for New Student Debt Relief Scams Amid COVID Outbreak
  April 3, 2020 - As the coronavirus outbreak continues to impose new financial realities on consumers, it also subjects student loan borrowers to uncertainty in their repayment plans, which could make them more susceptible to scams stemming from the outbreak.
• ED Directs Servicers to Implement COVID-19 Student Loan Relief by Next Week
  April 3, 2020 - As part of the third COVID-19 relief package signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27, Congress mandated the Department of Education (ED) suspend payments and interest accrual on federally-held student loans until Sept. 30, 2020. As borr...
• Major Disaster Guidance for Institutions in States Impacted by COVID-19
  April 2, 2020 - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has declared multiple states and U.S. territories affected by COVID-19 as major disaster areas — and it is expected that more states may be added to the disaster area list in the future. These decl...
• NASFAA Urges ED to Quickly Release Coronavirus Emergency Funds
  April 2, 2020 - NASFAA joined the higher education community in a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, urging her to quickly release emergency funds to institutions amid the coronavirus outbreak.
• Lawmakers Push Relief From Withheld Tax Refunds for More Student Borrowers During COVID-19 Outbreak
  March 31, 2020 - On March 13, President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the novel coronavirus outbreak — which also became the date on which the Department of Education (ED) announced it would retroactively apply a policy to stop requests to w...
• American Council on Education Simulates Distribution of CARES Act Emergency Funds
  March 30, 2020 - In the wake of the $2 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed by Congress last week, colleges and universities across the country are beginning to consider how the legislation might impact their campuses. In an effort to provide schools with a rough ...
• Universities Get Creative With Emergency Funds for Students Displaced by Coronavirus
  March 26, 2020 - College and university emergency funds — a relatively new concept in the world of higher education — have taken on added significance as thousands of displaced students continue to grapple with the fallout from the novel coronavirus outbr...
• NASFAA Members Share Remote Experiences, Best Practices During COVID-19 Outbreak
  March 25, 2020 - As the novel coronavirus continues to temporarily shut down institutions and move instruction online, colleges, universities, and their financial aid offices are having to adapt to a new reality for higher education — such as addressing student...
• ED Halts Collections on Defaulted Student Loans Due to COVID-19
  March 25, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) officially announced Wednesday it has stopped requests to withhold the wages, tax refunds, and Social Security benefits of borrowers who are in default on their federal student loans for at least the next 60 days as a...
• Congress Strikes Deal for $2 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Package
  March 25, 2020 - After a series of long negotiations that spanned through the weekend and into early this week, the Senate passed the third COVID-19 relief package early Thursday morning by a vote of 96-0. The bill, dubbed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Se...
• Private Student Loan Borrowers to See Some Reprieve Amid Coronavirus Relief Efforts
  March 24, 2020 - While efforts from the federal government and lawmakers to support student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 outbreak have focused on federally-held loans, some student advocacy groups are pushing for relief for private student loan borrowers, and a...
• Senate, House Leaders Negotiate Toward Third COVID-19 Package
  March 24, 2020 - As states and cities across the country implement measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scrambling to come to a compromise on their latest stimulus package to alleviate some financial burden being placed ...
• Congress Passes Emergency GI Bill Fix as Colleges Close Due to Coronavirus
  March 20, 2020 - The House on Thursday passed emergency legislation that will ensure student veterans continue to receive the full benefits of the GI Bill as colleges and universities across the country have shifted to online-only classes in response to the ongoing n...
• ED Issues Additional COVID-19 Guidance Regarding Federal Work-Study, Cost of Attendance
  March 20, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) released additional guidance in the form of an attached Q&A document Friday to its original guidance issued on March 5. ED will continue to provide answers to questions it receives in response to the current guida...
• ED Clarifies Details of Interest Accrual Pause, Allows Temporary Administrative Forbearance
  March 20, 2020 - The Department of Education (ED) on Friday further clarified the method by which borrowers with federally-held student loans will receive a pause on interest accrual, how long the delay will last, and what options borrowers have to pause payments &md...
• Experts Question the Impact of Trump’s Pause on Student Loan Interest Accrual
  March 17, 2020 - President Donald Trump — during a press conference Friday in which he declared a national emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak — excited student loan borrowers when he announced intentions to pause the interest accrual on their federal ...
• VA Distributes Coronavirus Guidance for Payout of GI Bill Student Benefits
  March 13, 2020 - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Friday circulated information to institutions that enroll students who use GI Bill educational benefits, directing them on how to respond to questions regarding the impact on recipients if instruction moves ...
• Trump Pledges to Pause Student Loan Interest Accrual in Wake of Coronavirus
  March 13, 2020 - At a press conference Friday afternoon in which President Donald Trump declared a national emergency due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, he also announced he would be pausing the interest on federal loans to support impacted student borrowers &mda...
• House, Senate Introduce Coronavirus Legislation Addressing Title IV Concerns
  March 13, 2020 - On Friday, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) introduced the Supporting Students in Response to Coronavirus Act (S. 3489), a bill that would provide more than $3 billion in funding for a variety of s...
• ED Issues Guidance to Institutions on Title IV Implications of Coronavirus Spread
  March 5, 2020 - As concerns about the potential spread of the coronavirus continue to rise, the Department of Education (ED) on Thursday released guidance providing significant flexibility to institutions with students who may experience interruptions in study. The ...