COVID Waivers Expiring

By Rick Cox

On April 10, 2023, President Biden signed into law the end of the COVID-19 national emergency. Originally, he had indicated the emergency would end on May 11, 2023. However, Congress initiated a bill to end it immediately and President Biden signed this into law on April 10, 2023.

The Department of Education has not yet issued any guidance on the end or phasing out of the COVID waivers. The department published a chart of all the waivers on January 15, 2021. This chart does provide the timeframe to which each waiver applies and when it will end. You can access this chart here.

Below, we are providing a partial list of waivers and their ending dates to use as a quick reference. For a complete list of waivers and ending dates, as well as more details on the waivers, please use the link above.

• Return to Title IV – applies to the payment period that includes April 10, 2023, but not any future payment periods.
• Leave of Absence – allowances will remain applicable through the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023.
• Students who fail to begin attendance – this is applicable through the end of the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023.
• Distance Education – the waiver is applicable through the end of the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023. For accreditation reviews, those flexibilities are extended for 180 days after April 10, 2023.
• Federal Work Study– allows payment to FWS students whose employment was interrupted by a COVID-related event. This is applicable through the end of the payment period that includes April 10, 2023.
• Community Service & Reading Tutor requirements waiver – expires at the end of the 2023-2024 award year (the waiver expires at the end of the award year that begins after the emergency is rescinded).
• Transfer of up to 100 percent of FWS to FSEOG – extends through the end of the payment period that includes April 10, 2023.
• FSEOG Emergency Grant authority – extends through the end of the payment period that includes April 10, 2023.
• Academic Calendars – allowed for overlapping and short terms to remain standard terms and allows a semester or trimester to have as few as 13 weeks. This is applicable through the end of the academic year that includes April 10, 2023.
• SAP – attempted credits that could not be completed because of COVID may be excluded from pace component. This is applicable to any SAP assessment made through the end of the payment period that includes April 10, 2023.
• Need Analysis – emergency aid is not income or EFA and colleges are not required to re-evaluate a student’s eligibility if a COVID disruption occurs, altering a student’s costs, after the student has been packaged. This is applicable through the end of the payment period that includes April 10, 2023.
• Verification – statement of educational purpose waiver and other signature waivers. These remain applicable through the end of the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023, regardless of award year.
• HCM1 – allowed colleges to submit a request for funds without first paying credit balances. This allowance is applicable to any requests submitted up to the end of the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023.
• Payment Methods – for credit balances, there are allowances for use of any type of EFT, including payment methods such as Zelle and PayPal. This allowance is applicable through the payment period that begins after April 10, 2023.
• Change of Ownership – the waiver is in effect for 180 days after April 10, 2023.
• Short Term Programs – 70/70 qualifying requirements are in effect through the remainder of the 2022-2023 award year.
• TEACH – waivers on qualifying service are applicable through April 10, 2023.

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