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Category: Administration

OMB Issues Guidance to Allow Grant Recipients to Repurpose PPE and Other Materials

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The White House Office of Management and Budget yesterday issued guidance (M-20-20) that enables federal agencies to  to “repurpose their federal assistance awards (in whole or part) to support the COVID-19 response, as consistent with applicable laws.”

The memo states, in part, the following:

As an example of this flexibility, agencies may allow recipients to donate medical equipment (including, but not limited to, personal protective equipment, medical devices, medicines, and other medical supplies) purchased with Federal assistance funds to hospitals, medical centers, and other local entities serving the public for COVID-19 response. This class exception also extends to the donation of other resources (such as labor, supplies, and contract services) funded under Federal financial assistance to support COVID-19 emergency response activities.

Guidance Sought from State Department on International Students and Personnel

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In a letter sent earlier today, higher education associations asked the State Department for further guidance and assistance on the hurdles faced by international students, faculty, and staff at colleges and universities across the nation.

While acknowledging clarity and needed guidance that provided in some areas, the letter also highlights the fact a number of other problems still remain.  Read the letter here.

 

 

Higher Education Community Crafts Tax Proposals for Phase 4

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On top of the proposals aimed at direct institutional and student needs as well as needs in the research arena, the higher education community has also pulled together a set of tax proposals that seeks to address additional challenges.

One of the top priorities in the package is the request that public entities, including public universities, become eligible to take advantage of the tax credits available to employers that provide paid sick and emergency family and medical leave for employees who are facing COVID-19-related issues.  “Phase 2” required all public employers as well as private employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid sick and emergency family and medical leave.  At the same time, the bill created tax credits for the same set of private sector employers but explicitly prohibited public employers from being eligible for the credits.

 

Dept of Education Releases New Distance Learning Regulations

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The US Department of Education has revealed new rules impacting distance learning; the Distance Learning and Innovation regulation is available in the Federal Register and is now open for a 30 day public comment period. The Department plans to publish a final regulation prior to November 1st, 2020.

The new regulation would implement:

  • Emphasize demonstrated learning over seat time.
  • Remove confusion over whether a course is eligible for Title IV aid by defining “regular and substantive” interaction between students and instructors.
  • Clarify and simplify the requirements for direct assessment programs, including how to determine equivalent credit hours.
  • Add a definition of “juvenile justice facility” to ensure that incarcerated students remain Pell eligible.
  • Allow students enrolled in Title IV, Higher Education Act (HEA)-eligible foreign institutions to complete up to 25% of their programs at an eligible institution in the United States. This provision is particularly important for students temporarily unable to attend courses abroad due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Encourage employer participation in developing educational programs.
  • Create a new, student-centric system for disbursing Title IV, HEA assistance to students in subscription-based programs.
  • Require prompt action by the Department on applications to participate, or continue to participate, as an eligible institution in the HEA, Title IV program. In the past, these applications have been stalled for months or even years.

The Department emphasized that this regulation has been in the works for over a year, although it is now extremely relevant as colleges shift to online learning due to COVID-19.