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Category: Student Affairs

Senate Hearings on Reopening Schools

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The US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold two hearings related to school reopening and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first hearing “COVID-19: Going Back to College Safely” is on reopening colleges and universities.

Date: Tuesday, June 4th, 2020

Time: 7am PT/10am ET

Watch live here.

The second hearing “COVID-19: Going Back to School Safely” is on reopening K-12 schools.

Date: Wednesday, June 10th, 2020

Time: 7am PT/10am ET

Watch live here.

 

 

 

Department of Education Releases Final Title IX Rule

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Today the US Department of Education released its final rule under Title IX. The rule prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. An unofficial copy has been published here and the official version will be published in the Federal Register.

The rule will carry the force and effect of law as of August 14, 2020.

Here is an overview detailing major provisions.

Here is a document highlighting changes between the proposed and final rule.

For more detailed information, the Office for Civil Rights has published a webinar.

 

 

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.

Broader Higher Education Community Looks to Engage with Federal Government to Address Community-Wide Challenges

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Yesterday, the broader higher education community sent to Congress a series of recommendations and requests for assistance aimed at stabilizing the entire enterprise as it tries to cope with COVID-19.  The requests fall into a number of distinct categories:

  • One set of requests addresses the immediate financial challenges facing both students and institutions.
  • Another set of requests focuses on the unique circumstances that research universities face as they deal with trying to mitigate the impact on research.
  • The third set  focuses on tax-related provisions that could assist students, families, and institutions.