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Democrats, following Senate Republicans' unveiling of their latest coronavirus aid proposal that aims to build on the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, are urging their colleagues to come to the negotiating table and increase aid for higher education as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues. The Republican plan — the Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection, and Schools (HEALS) Act — would provide an Education Stabilization Fund with $105 billion for programs housed under the Department of Education (ED), with just over $29 billion directed to the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), which would provide grants directly to institutions of higher education, based largely on the enrollment of full-time equivalent Pell Grant recipients. 

The Trump administration announced its intent to reject all new applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) determines the future of the program. The policy announcement comes nearly a month after the Supreme Court prohibited the administration from winding down DACA and serves as a renewed effort to end the program. “As the Department continues looking at the policy and considers future action, the fact remains that Congress should act on this matter,” Acting DHS Secretary Chad F. Wolf said in a press release. “There are important policy reasons that may warrant the full rescission of the DACA policy.” The move is likely to draw a number of renewed legal challenges and with the presidential campaign coming into focus it is unlikely that any change in policy will occur before the election.

A pair of legal challenges against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ implementation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act have come to opposing rulings on what determinations the Department of Education (ED) can make when it comes to allocating emergency federal aid for students. One federal judge in Massachusetts ruled against DeVos, finding that undocumented students should not be barred from aid provided by the CARES Act, due to a lack of clear congressional intent, while another judge in Washington found that DeVos could utilize department rules to bar DREAMers and undocumented students because the law does not demonstrate a clear intent from Congress to bar the department from making such a determination. These latest federal rulings were both limited to the individual challenges deriving a student from Massachusetts and Washington State’s attorney general.

The NASFAA U Direct Loans online course, one of our most popular offerings, begins on September 8. This eight-week interactive online course will review the Direct Loan application and origination process, eligibility criteria, annual and aggregate limits, loan periods, loan repayment plans, deferments, forbearance, discharges, and counseling requirements. This course is the perfect learning tool for new and intermediate level financial aid professionals, designed to provide the necessary tools and subject matter expertise to guide you through the Direct Loan process. Live instruction, discussion topic collaboration, and assessments throughout the course will reinforce key concepts. Upon passing the course, you will receive complimentary access to the credential test. Register now to reserve your seat.

Stipends can include both scholarship/grant/tuition waiver and employment components. Any part of the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship Program (AFHPSP or HPSP) and National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program (NHSCSP) stipend that is a scholarship/grant/waiver awarded based on a commitment of future service is not compensation for work or employment according to guidance NASFAA has received from ED; therefore, it is estimated financial assistance (EFA) when packaging Title IV aid. 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.

Have you scheduled your Certified Financial Aid Administrator® Knowledge Exam yet? Don't want to wait until October? NASFAA recently added a two-week testing window into the schedule, beginning on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. Exam appointments fill up quickly, so be sure to schedule your session soon. Learn more about the testing process and make sure you meet all of the technical requirements. If you haven't already applied, it’s not too late to complete your application online.

For each Federal Pell Grant award disbursed to a student who was selected for verification, a school must report the student’s verification status to the Department of Education (ED) via the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System. To do this, the school includes a verification status code (“W,” “V,” or “S”) in the Common Record document it submits to the COD System via batch processing or when it creates the award online via the COD website.

This information collection supports the annual collection of data pertaining to the uses of funds under the Higher Education Emergency Education Relief Fund (HEER Fund). Section 18004(a) of the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 (March 27, 2020), authorized the Secretary of Education to allocate formula grant funds to participating institutions of higher education (IHEs). This information collection request includes the reporting requirements in order to comply with the requirements of the CARES Act and obtain information on how the funds were used. 

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