CECU Daily Update Email

COVID-19 Resources & Webinars
On March 13, 2020, Career Education Colleges and Universities launched an information webpage for institutions responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19). CECU’s Coronavirus webpage includes a multitude of helpful resources to assist higher education leaders understand the various legal and operational implications of temporarily closing a campus or adapting courses to online learning.

View all past webinars here.
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Upcoming Webinar
COVID-19 Stimulus Package
TODAY - Wednesday, April 1 | 2:00 pm ET
Presenters:
Steve Gonzalez, CECU
Katherine Brodie, Duane Morris
Dennis Cariello, Hogan, Marren, Babbo & Rose
Register Here

Coronavirus - Education News
Readout of the U.S. Department of Education’s COVID-19 Conference Call with Higher Education Stakeholders
CECU Senior Vice President of Policy and Research Nicholas Kent was invited to Tuesday’s call with several senior Department officials, including Secretary Betsy DeVos and FSA Chief Operating Officer Mark Brown, to hear an update on the Trump Administration’s response to the COVID-19 national emergency. Although the readout generally reflects the 20-minute call, there is one item not mentioned that we would like to share with the CECU membership. Secretary DeVos acknowledged several institutions of higher education have recently requested that the Department not publish the next round of financial responsibility composite scores. Explaining the next round of composite scores is based on an institution’s 2017-18 audited financials, and therefore not impacted by COVID-19, Secretary DeVos said the Department intends to publish the next round of composite scores. There were no further remarks on standards of financial responsibility, including how the Department will handle future audits impacted by COVID-19. However, CECU continues to work with the Department and Congress to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our member institutions and related stakeholders.

Coronavirus Public Health Emergency Underscores Need for Department of Education’s Proposed Distance Learning Rules – U.S. Department of Education
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed new rules today that would govern distance learning for higher education students. Although work on the proposed Distance Learning and Innovation regulation started more than a year ago, the COVID-19 National Emergency underscores the need for reform and for all educational institutions to have a robust capacity to teach remotely. The proposed rule will open for public comment starting tomorrow for 30 days.

Q&A Related to ED Relief as a Result of the Covid-19 National Emergency – McClintock & Associates
Note: The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has not issued any guidance related to provisions in the CARES Act. We anticipate ED will issue further guidance. This summary is for general guidance and informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon for regulatory compliance.

Is Canceling Student Debt the Right Approach? – Inside Higher Ed
Canceling student debt has become a cause among progressives. But behind the scenes, they had different views on including it in the stimulus package.

Additional Coronavirus Coverage - Updated Daily
Five Ways COVID-19 Will Impact Fall College Enrollments – Forbes; Colleges move to refund student fees, but can their budgets take the hit? – Education Dive; Preparing for a Fall Without In-Person Classes – Inside Higher Ed.

Coronavirus - Remote Learning
Coronavirus Crisis: Obstacles of Moving Traditional Students to Distance Learning Modalities at Scale – The evolllution
Online learning is not novel – but it can become a challenge at scale. Universities have offered varying capacities of distance learning since University of Phoenix began its model in 1989. The University has leaned into our more than 80,000 working adult learners across the country who attend classes virtually.

What the Shift to Virtual Learning Could Mean for the Future of Higher Ed – Harvard Business Review
As this crisis-driven experiment launches, we should be collecting data and paying attention to the following three questions about higher education’s business model and the accessibility of quality college education.

Udacity And Upwork Partner To Develop Free Course On Managing Remote Teams
Managing Remote Teams with Upwork is a free course that is now available to Udacity learners. For more information, or to sign up for an account, visit udacity.com.

Coronavirus - CARES Act
With $349 Billion in Emergency Small Business Capital Cleared, SBA and Treasury Begin Unprecedented Public-Private Mobilization Effort to Distribute Funds
Following President Trump’s signing of the historic Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza and Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin today announced that the SBA and Treasury Department have initiated a robust mobilization effort of banks and other lending institutions to provide small businesses with the capital they need.

Summary:

• CARES Act Provides Aid and Regulatory Relief to Students and Educational Institutions - Faegre Drinker

Education News
Textbook Merger Gets Closer Scrutiny in U.K. – Politico
A proposal by college textbook giants McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage to sell off 50 titles to another publisher doesn’t do enough to resolve competition concerns, the U.K.’s competition authority said Monday.

4 Items on Instructure’s To-Do List After the Sale of the Canvas LMS Provider – EdSurge
Even without a pandemic, Instructure faced a transformative 2020. The learning management system provider—best known for its Canvas product popular among colleges—is officially under private equity ownership.

Coronavirus - Resources
CER Coronavirus (COVID-19) News Coverage
We have put all of our coronavirus coverage regarding higher education on one page. View coverage here.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Web Center - NASFAA
This web center has been created to keep NASFAA members and the financial aid community updated on pertinent news related to the coronavirus (COVID-19).
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*NEW* Follow-Up Webinar — COVID-19 and Federal Student Aid: What We Know
Join us Thursday, April 2 at 2:00 p.m. ET for this special follow-up webinar as NASFAA President Justin Draeger and NASFAA staff from the AskRegs and policy teams review some of the most common questions related to Title IV aid and COVID-19.