GRC News

Federal Updates

U.S. Department of Education

September 10, 2019 – The Department announced that it will be sending institutions participating in the Perkins Loan program a letter regarding the amount and deadlines by which the institutions must return to the Department the Federal Share and remove and return to the institution the Institutional share of the Perkins Loan Revolving Fund. Institutions must return to the Department only the Federal share that has been requested.

September 13, 2019 – The Department provides notice of the re-establishment of a matching program between the ED and the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. ED seeks access to information contained in the DHS-USCIS database for the purpose of verifying immigration status of applicants for assistance for title IV federal student aid.

September 16, 2019 – The Department published a notice in the Federal Register announcing the availability of funds and the application deadline for new grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) under the Emergency Assistance to Institutions of Higher Education (2019 EAI) Program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.938T, under title VIII of the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 for education-related disaster recovery activities.

The Department published a notice in the Federal Register proposing to extend the Foreign Schools Eligibility Criteria Apply to Participate in Title IV HEA Programs.

The Department posted an electronic announcement reminding institutions that the Secretary will require assignment to the Department of all Perkins loans that have been in default for two or more years. The Department will notify institutions individually of their obligation to provide documentation of their collection efforts on these loans and the deadline by which loans without documentation must be assigned after the next Fiscal Operations and Application to Participate (FISAP) is filed in October 2019.

September 30, 2019 – Deadline for electronically transmitting Pell Grant and Ira and Afghanistan Service Grant records for the 2018-2019 Award Year to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System- see more here

Processing deadline to submit TEACH Grant award and disbursement records is 9 p.m. ET. However, for actual disbursements to generate the appropriate funding level increase in G5 prior to the scheduled G5 shutdown, they must be received, and subsequently accepted, by the COD System no later than 8 a.m. ET on Monday, September 30, 2019. Schools should plan final closeout efforts accordingly- see more here

October 1, 2019 – Deadline for schools to submit 2020–21 FISAP electronically and mail in the required signature page - see more here

Deadline for institutions, that did not choose to early implement the rescission of the GE rule, to report GE data for the 2018-2019 Award Year to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)- see more here

Looking Ahead – 2019 FSA Training Conference. The Federal Student Aid Office has opened registration for the 2019 FSA Training Conference scheduled for December 3 to 6 in Reno, Nevada. The FSA Training Conference is training provided for financial aid professionals by the government for those institutions receiving Title IV funds and is the largest training program in the United States serving the financial aid community. In 2018 more than 2,000 unique schools registered for the conference. Registration is free.

U.S. Congress – Newly Introduced Legislation of Note

S.2471 – A bill to give middle-class families access to the maximum Federal Pell Grant, to increase college transparency, and State maintenance of efforts, and for other purposes.

a. Status: Referred to the Senate Committee on Finance, 9/12/19

b. Sponsor: Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) 0 Cosponsors

H.R. 4327 – To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to promote comprehensive campus mental health and suicide prevention plans, and for other purposes

a. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, 9/12/19

b. Sponsor: Rep. Susan Wild (D-PA) 10 Cosponsors

H.R. 4310 – Public Service Expansion Act

a. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, 9/12/19

b. Sponsor: Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) 0 Cosponsors

H.R. 4308 – To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish an emergency grant aid program, and for other purposes

a. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, 9/12/19

b. Sponsor: Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-NY) 7 Cosponsors

H.R. 4298 – Pell Grant Restoration Act

a. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor, 9/12/19

b. Sponsor: Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) 12 Cosponsors

H.R. 4253 – Empower Parents in College Act of 2019