Government Affairs

  Trump Administration Reverses Course on Denying Student Visas — Later Blocks New International Students if Coursework is Fully Online Guidance first released July 6 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) restricted visas if an international student’s coursework was fully online in the fall, and requested that institutions notify them by July 15 if…

COVID 19 – CARES Act Funding + Reopening Policies The past few months have been confusing for institutions wishing to disburse COVID-19 emergency grant dollars due to the Department of Education changing allocation calculations and requirements, including eligibility for who can receive grants from the relief legislation. One of the main groups that the Administration has…

Twenty-nine (29) higher education associations and organizations, including UPCEA, joined EDUCAUSE on June 5, 2020, in sending a letter to Congress on significant broadband issues for higher education. The groups asked Congress to consider the needs of economically distressed college students in relation to efforts to bridge the digital divide during COVID-19 pandemic, specifically citing the Supporting Connectivity…

Department of Education Extends Distance Education Approval to December In an updated guidance letter, the Department of Education has extended flexibility, originally provided in early March, for broad approval of the creation of distance education programs beginning between March 5 and December 31, 2020 due to interruptions of study related to COVID-19. It has also extended…