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Category: Administration

Associations Ask for Regulatory Flexibility in Light of COVID-19

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On March 9, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) granted federal agencies the authority to provide regulatory flexibility on research and other federally funded efforts that they viewed as important in response to COVID-19.

Earlier today, four higher education associations representing a vast swath of the research university community– AAU, APLU, AAMC, and COGR– wrote to OMB asking that such regulatory flexibility be expanded to other federally funded research as institutions are grappling with research environments that are rapidly changing, sometimes by the minute.  The letter is available here.

Senate Passes Bill to Address Problems in GI Bill and On-line Programs

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The Senate adopted yesterday a bill that would address an unforeseen problem in the way in which GI Bill benefits would be calculated as a result of academic programs transitioning to on-line programs due to  COVID-19.  Because many of the academic programs which have transitioned to on-line delivery did so without preapproval by the state approving agency, beneficiaries would have lost out on their benefits, including their housing benefits.  The legislation would address these deficiencies in the program and allow the GI Bill participants to continue to receive their benefits.

The text of the Senate-passed legislation is is available here.

The House is also working on a companion bill that addresses this problem.

 

Higher Ed Associations Seek Clarifications from State Dept. and DHS

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Yesterday, a number of higher education associations wrote to both the State Department and Department of Homeland Security asking for clarity on a number of new situations faced by international students and scholars caused by COVID-19.  The letter address situations that pertain to, for example, the expiration of F-1 status, possible extension of OPT, and the ability of consulates to adjudicate applications.

The letter is available here.

Census Bureau Modifies Policies and Timelines on Info from Higher Education

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As part of the census process every 10 years, colleges and universities are required to collect and provide certain pieces of information about their student population to the Census Bureau. 2020 is a census year.

For the census, college students living in on-campus housing are counted through their university as part of the bureau’s Group Quarters Operation. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on colleges and universities, the Census Bureau issued a statement on Monday highlighting several modifications to the policies and timelines it had in place for the census.  The statement reads, in part, as follows:

  • In general, students in colleges and universities temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 virus will still be counted as part of this process.  Even if they are home on census day, April 1, they should be counted according to the residence criteria which states they should be counted where they live and sleep most of the time. We are asking schools to contact their students and remind them to respond.
  • Per the Census Bureau’s residence criteria, in most cases students living away from home at school should be counted at school, even if they are temporarily elsewhere due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The full statement from the Census Bureau is available here.