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President Donald Trump signed the third COVID-19 relief package Friday, which was passed by Congress last week after a series of long negotiations. The $2 trillion dollar bill — dubbed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — allocates $14 billion to higher education, and includes multiple provisions related to student aid, such as funds for institutions to create emergency grants for students impacted by the novel coronavirus and relief for federal student loan borrowers. The Department of Education (ED) will now be tasked with implementing those provisions and distributing funds to institutions. Stay tuned to Today’s News and NASFAA’s COVID-19 Web Center for more updates. 

The payment period or period of enrollment to which ED guidance applies depends on the specific Title IV provision. For example, ED's provisions for distance education programs now include payment periods that overlap March 5, 2020, or that begin on or between March 5, 2020 and December 31, 2020. View the full answer to this question to learn more and search for answers to your other pressing regulatory and compliance questions, in NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase.

This AskRegs Q&A has been updated to reflect additional guidance provided in the May 15, 2020 Electronic Announcement. Yes, but there are some exceptions to the regulatory definition. The March 5, 2020 Electronic Announcement guidance regarding a leave of absence (LOA) only applies to Title IV-approved leaves of absence defined in 34 CFR 668.22(d). If your school does not have a Title IV-approved LOA, the student is a withdrawal if the school closes and/or does not move classes online, or if the school closes and reopens and the student later withdraws during the same payment period or period of enrollment. View the full answer to this question to learn more and search for answers to your other pressing regulatory and compliance questions, in NASFAA's AskRegs Knowledgebase.

The Policy & Federal Relations team is excited to welcome Jacquelyn Cottom as the Assistant Director of State Relations and Advocacy. Jacquelyn, who has worked in financial aid for nearly 15 years, began her career at The Sallie Mae Fund and later joined the Department of Education participating in requirement gathering and testing of key department systems. Most recently, she worked at Northern Virginia Community College for the last 10 years as a campus financial aid representative, college financial aid assistant, and as the assistant director of financial aid compliance and support. Over the years, she has volunteered and served in state, regional, and national associations in various roles, and served as a Representative-at-Large on the VASFAA Board during the 2019-20 year. Jacquelyn is a proud alumna of James Madison University, and when she is not at work she enjoys spending time with her family and her 11 year old beagle, Peanut. Please join us in welcoming Jacquelyn to NASFAA!

Next up on the NASFAA U schedule is one of our most popular courses, Cost of Attendance, beginning tomorrow, March 31. NASFAA U instructors Tonya Hsiung and David Tolman, along with Marian Dill, director of financial aid at Lee University, will focus on cost of attendance (COA) components and calculations, including the items that must be included in a student's COA and those which can be applied through the use of Professional Judgment (PJ). They'll also cover COA construction and elements of a school's COA policies and procedures, including policies on required and optional COA recalculations. Don't miss out on this training opportunity suited for a range of financial aid professionals, from those new to the field to those with more experience who want to review their school's COA methods and policies. Register now.

As the new coronavirus continues to spread and impact colleges and universities, as well as students and parents, a number of our business partners have begun offering certain services for free to help ease the burden. If your organization is providing a service free of charge to schools and/or students and families during the national emergency that you would like to be included in this resource, please send a link to the announcement or press release to our news team. Read on for a list highlighting how companies are supporting schools and students in this time of crisis.

The Department of Education posted the final 2020–21 campus-based programs funding worksheets and the 2020–21 Statement of Account for each of the campus-based programs to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) website.

In response to school concerns and the unprecedented disruptions caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), the Department of Education will be delaying the requirement that borrowers complete the Annual Student Loan Acknowledgement prior to disbursement for the 2020–21 award year. Instead, the borrower completion requirement will begin with the 2021–22 award year.

This requests is for an extension of the information collection to approve a form used to obtain information from federal student loan borrowers who allege that the loan(s) in their name were the result of a forgery.

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