A Summary of Current and Expired COVID-19 Waivers

By Rick Cox

Some emergency relief for students and administrators because of the COVID-19 pandemic are still in effect and others have expired. Here’s a reminder of current and expired waivers.

· Federal Work Study Program Community Service requirements are still waived.

· From the Department of Education, if a student withdraws or is withdrawn for failure to comply with a college’s vaccine mandate, the student would not be eligible for the COVID-19 waiver for Return to Title IV.

· The Campus-Based waiver of matching requirements does not apply to the 2021-2022 award year.

· The wind down of COVID-19 provisions will be difficult due to how each of these will be implemented once the COVID-19 national emergency is declared ended. All waivers or guidance have sunset dates that will be based on the end of the national emergency; however, in limited circumstances certain CARES Act waivers may be extended based on regional or local health emergencies. The department will notify institutions via FSA’s Knowledge Center as these waivers end once the national emergency is over. It will be critical for your financial aid staff to understand how the sunset period ends to determine when the waivers are no longer applicable. The presentation from the FSA conference provides good examples of wind-down for review.

Rick Cox is Global’s Executive Director of Regulatory Affairs and Compliance.