NASFAA Mention: Washington Watch: ED Releases Additional Stimulus Funds, Guidance

"The U.S. Education Department (ED) on Tuesday released the institutional share of the formula grants that the CARES Act provides to colleges, along with guidance about how those funds can be used. ED also released more details about the emergency student grants that it announced earlier this month. The two sets of “Frequently Asks Questions” provide far more specifics on the program than previously available. The new materials may result in some planned institutional approaches to the expenditure of funds, particularly concerning emergency grants to students, being precluded," Community College Daily reports. 

..."At the risk of adding to the complexity facing community colleges, according to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), 'schools immediately questioned whether they would need to have a FAFSA on file in order to disburse CARES Act emergency funds to students. While ED’s guidance does state that a FAFSA is not required, having one on file would be the only practicable way for an institution to determine that a student is eligible to participate in the student aid programs and meet all applicable eligibility requirements.'

NASFAA has already reached out to ED regarding the scope of ED’s statement that only 'students who are or could be eligible to participate in programs under Section 484 in Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), may receive emergency financial aid grants.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

 

 

Publication Date: 4/21/2020

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