NASFAA Mention: Work-Study Pay Loss

"After the Pratt Institute in New York City closed its campus in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, Emlyn Orr said she received an email from her supervisor at her Federal Work-Study job telling her not to report to her shifts as a photography dark room attendant. The email didn't make clear whether Orr would continue receiving pay, but said students facing financial difficulty as a result of such work stoppages should contact the college's financial aid office. Orr, a junior, said she waited on payment -- her student account still shows an unpaid balance of $3,811-- that never came. She relied on the $165 biweekly pay to buy meals and supplies for her classes, which are being held remotely. She's now wonders where that money has gone," Inside Higher Ed reports

..."The department has said colleges can continue to use federal funds to pay students who had work-study jobs before the pandemic, even if campus closures are preventing them from performing those jobs, said Megan Coval, vice president of policy and federal relations for the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, or NASFAA."

...."Students with work-study jobs have unmet financial needs to cover expenses associated with attending college, and some are recipients of federal Pell Grants, which is an indicator of low-income status, Coval said. Of the nearly 3,000 institutions in NASFAA’s membership, many were 'pleased' to learn the DOE would allow them to continue paying these students with federal funds, she said.

'That was one of the first questions that we were getting from our members -- can we keep paying these students,' Coval said."

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: 5/6/2020

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