In this week's roundup:
The White House rescinded ICE's decision regarding international students, colleges and universities will not be punished for reconsidering students' financial aid packages and words and actions are unaligned so far when it comes to undergraduates behaving responsibly and following social distancing regulations.
Stay tuned for our weekly roundup on what trends we're seeing across institutions, how individual colleges and universities are responding to them and what national policy changes are affecting higher ed.
Week of July 8 - 15
- The White House has rescinded last week's policy that would bar international students who only take online courses from staying in the U.S. This comes after Harvard and MIT, among other institutions, sued over the decision. However, "initial status" students who have not already arrived in the United States are being told to stay in their home country.
- Prior to that settlement on 7/14, colleges and universities were adjusting their fall plans and recruitment tactics for international students in the aftermath of ICE's announcement. Meanwhile, international students were scrambling to make plans in response to the decision.
- Over the summer, fraternity and sorority parties have been epicenters of COVID-19's spread, casting doubt on undergraduate students' ability to socially distance in the upcoming fall semester.
- In contrast, a recent poll by College Reaction and Axios found that students say they are willing to go without parties and the other social aspects of college if it means going back in the fall.
- Colleges and universities are considering how to enforce their COVID-19 regulations once more students, staff and faculty return to campus.
- The Education Department announced that it won't punish institutions for reconsidering students' financial aid packages in light of the devastating effects of the pandemic on familial contributions. Financial aid officials are receiving more appeals for financial aid reconsideration from students.
- More college and university athletic conferences are cancelling fall sports, including NESCAC and the Ivy League.
- A new survey by The Institute for College Access and Success on how colleges and universities have dispersed CARES Act funding provides some insight into a process that many schools have found confusing as a result of changing restrictions.
- Seven students have joined a lawsuit the National Women's Law Center filed against the Education Department regarding the new Title IX regulations.
- The Washington Post conducted a survey to determine the capability of college and university health centers to handle the pandemic. The results weren't comforting.
- More colleges and universities, including the University of Vermont this week, are divesting from fossil fuels, often as a result of student activism.
