"It started out promising. Nine business days after President Donald Trump signed a massive bill to help America respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the U.S. Department of Education unveiled plans for the first tranche of more than $6 billion for colleges and universities to award emergency grant aid to students. That involved working with limited data in creating an entirely new formula that determined funding amounts for more than 5,000 colleges," according to the Center for American Progress. 

..."Now, three months after colleges could start applying for this assistance, and weeks after many have already received and spent all their funds, the Education Department is still struggling to formalize restrictions and remains mired in lawsuits that have resulted in two temporary injunctions against the agency’s actions.

This bungling has hurt students and institutions. A survey that the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) conducted of its member institutions in May found that more than 80 percent of respondents said they had somewhat or greatly delayed the awarding of emergency grants because of the Education Department’s varying guidance. Nearly 60 percent said they had to greatly alter initial plans for distributing grants. Many indicated they would have to require students to fill out additional paperwork to get money. Some have even sat on all their funds as they wait for the agency to finalize rules."

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: 6/18/2020