ED Issues Additional COVID-19 Guidance Regarding Federal Work-Study, Cost of Attendance – NASFAA
The Department of Education (ED) released additional guidance in the form of an attached Q&A document Friday to its original guidance issued on March 5. ED will continue to provide answers to questions it receives in response to the current guidance, as well as any future guidance. The questions covered topics related to COVID-19 and its implication on federal student aid as it relates to Federal Work-Study (FWS), enrollment changes, distance education provided by foreign institutions, cost of attendance adjustments and refunds, and Return of Title IV (R2T4) issues. This article highlights only some of the situations included in ED’s Q&A. For full details, see the updated March 5 Electronic Announcement.
Institutional Refunds and Cost of Attendance Recalculations
As institutions have considered offering refunds of some institutional charges, questions have arisen about the institution’s obligations to adjust cost of attendance (COA) and possibly financial aid packages to reflect those refunds. ED’s guidance states that if an institution provides “a waiver or refund of expenses for all or part of a student’s tuition, fees, room and board charges, or other institutional charges, or if you become aware that a student has moved off campus for the remainder of the term, the Department will not require a re-evaluation of the student’s cost of attendance.”