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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. Guide for the Distribution of Student Grants under the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund In the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, the proprietary school sector has a unique opportunity. The federal government has included our schools in the Emergency Stabilization Fund for institutions of higher education. Starting the week of April 13, 2020, institutions will be given the opportunity to direct critical Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund grants to those students at your institutions most impacted by the pandemic. This guide, developed with the quick help from sector leaders, will support institutions in understanding what they should know regarding the emergency financial aid grants, potential formulas for the distribution of such grants, and a sample grant application form. The guide will be updated regularly based on ongoing stakeholder feedback and federal updates so check back often. View the guide here. Upcoming Webinars Coping with COVID-19: SBA Updates on CARES Act Programs to Help Small Businesses and Non-Profits Friday, April 17 | 2:00PM EDT Step 1: Dial into the conference. Dial-in: 1-877-369-5243 or 1-617-668-3633 Access Code: 0262739## Step 2: Join the conference on your computer. Entry Link: https://ems8.intellor.com/login/824808 NASFAA Webinar - COVID-19 and Federal Student Aid: The Latest Information (April 17) Friday, April 17 | 2:00PM EDT Join NASFAA President Justin Draeger and NASFAA staff from the AskRegs and Policy teams as they review and follow-up on the most recently passed COVID-19 legislation and guidance from the Department of Education, and answer some of the most common questions related to Title IV and COVID-19. Unemployment, Layoff and Furlough Wednesday, April 22 | 2:00PM EDT What are the differences and what is best for my company? Lever1’s seasoned HR Director walks through the best course of action to avoid discrimination pitfalls when selecting employees for reduction of work as well as how to manage their unemployment claims and health coverage. Key takeaways: - Who to select and which choice is right for my business - How claims are processed - Employee Assistance Programs - COBRA and other healthcare issues through this process - How to take advantage of payroll tax credits using these methods Reboot: Getting Your Marketing Ready for the Restart. Wednesday, May 6 | 2:00PM If you haven’t outlined a plan to reboot your marketing, you are behind the curve. The time to start planning and launching recruitment campaigns is upon us. Coronavirus Education News
‘No Sense of Decency’ for Senators Denying Career Colleges CARES Funding by Steve Gunderson Sixty-five years ago, Joseph Welch, serving as legal counsel for the U.S. Army in the televised Joseph R. McCarthy hearings, asked a question that may have changed history when he asked of the Wisconsin Republican senator, “Have you no sense of decency?” That same question should be directed today to four current senators. The Recession and For-Profit College Recruiting Eight years ago, as senior staffers on the U.S. Senate's education committee, Beth Stein and Carrie Wofford finished a two-year investigation documenting excesses by for-profit colleges during the Great Recession of the late 2000s. Best Practices for Accounting and Disbursing Allocations from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Since the U.S. Department of Education’s April 9, 2020, announcement of the forthcoming release of the student emergency funds as noted in Section 18004(c) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), we have had numerous discussions with clients in regard to the awarding, disbursing, accounting and reporting of these funds. As the Secretary noted in her cover letter, the “CARES Act provides institutions with significant discretion on how to award this emergency assistance to students. ….The only statutory requirement is that the funds be used to cover expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance, such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care).” Due to the generous discretion being provided by the Secretary, institutions have the ability to target the emergency relief as best suits its student base. However, with this generous discretion, the onus of documentation supporting these emergency grants lies with the institution. Retraining Workers Is the Key to Solving Job Needs – U.S. News That uneven mix of displacement and demand is creating a labor market riptide that presents both profound challenges and opportunities for workers who missed out on the last economic recovery to move to higher-paying careers. Small business rescue funds depleted with Congress deadlocked – Politico The small business rescue fund set up by Congress exhausted its $350 billion funding capacity Thursday morning, as U.S. lawmakers remained mired in a battle over providing more money. ED Releases Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Grant Funding – CooleyEd The Department of Education made available another $3 billion in grant funding under the CARES Act, which will go to states to provide emergency support for education. How Colleges That Serve More Part-Timers Ended Up With Less Coronavirus-Relief Aid – The Chronicle of Higher Education Amarillo and similar institutions, however, must spread that amount over a much larger population of disadvantaged students than do colleges like Brown. Additional Coronavirus Coverage - Updated Daily Colleges Are Handing Out Billions in Coronavirus Stimulus Funding to Students. Can They Do It Fairly? – The Chronicle of Higher Education; 4,000-Plus U.S. Higher Ed Institutions Impacted by COVID-19; More Than 25 Million Students Affected – Campus Technology; Coronavirus, Cash and Countdown – Inside Higher Ed. Financial Aid/Student Loan Issues NASFAA Urges Treasury, IRS to Ensure CARES Act Emergency Aid to Students Is Non-Taxable – NASFAA Several higher education groups — including NASFAA — have signed on to a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Charles Rettig, urging them to ensure the emergency grant aid allocated to college students during the global coronavirus pandemic is not treated as taxable income. Education News DeVos aide cleared of conflict of interest charges – Politico The agency’s inspector general concluded last year that Robert Eitel, who worked as a for-profit college executive before becoming a senior aide to DeVos, “did not appear to be in violation” of federal ethics laws, according to documents obtained by POLITICO under the Freedom of Information Act. Comments are closed.
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