Yesterday, a number of higher education associations wrote to both the State Department and Department of Homeland Security asking for clarity on a number of new situations faced by international students and scholars caused by COVID-19. The letter address situations that pertain to, for example, the expiration of F-1 status, possible extension of OPT, and the ability of consulates to adjudicate applications.
The letter is available here.
As part of the census process every 10 years, colleges and universities are required to collect and provide certain pieces of information about their student population to the Census Bureau. 2020 is a census year.
For the census, college students living in on-campus housing are counted through their university as part of the bureau’s Group Quarters Operation. Due to the impact of COVID-19 on colleges and universities, the Census Bureau issued a statement on Monday highlighting several modifications to the policies and timelines it had in place for the census. The statement reads, in part, as follows:
The full statement from the Census Bureau is available here.
The Department of Energy sent a letter to academic institutions soliciting questions which might enable the Department to use its facilities, infrastructure, or computational resources in response to COVID-19. Although the DoE does not undertake medical or clinical work, it can be an important element of the Federal Government response. UW faculty wishing to respond can contact our office or follow the instructions in the letter.
Earlier this week, with the numbers of both K-12 districts and institutions of higher education trying to deal with COVID-19 concerns growing, the federal Department of Education released an FAQs document with respect to what institutions can and cannot do in the area of sharing of students’ educational records and personally identifiable information.
In the document, ED discusses a number of situations in which student information can and cannot be shared. The FAQs are available here.
Both chambers of Congress are expected to take up legislation that would correct a problem in the GI Bill program caused by Covid-19.
As a result of how the current statutes and regulations are written and interpreted, the sudden transition of academic programs from traditional on-campus models to on-line programs without prior approval would lead to the loss of education and associated housing benefits for the recipient of the GI Bill. The veterans community as well as the higher education community, including individual institutions like the University of Washington, have become aware of the problem and have weighed in, asking for a solution.
The letter to the Senate from the higher education associations is available here while the letter to the House is available here. We will share a letter led by Student Veterans of America as it becomes available.