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Students and Educators

Resources for students and educators

  • Student loan payment deferral: The Department of Education has announced that they are deferring student loan payments, principal and interest, through September 30, 2021. These deferred payments only apply to federally-owned loans.
  • Work study: The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allows higher education institutions to issue work-study payments as a lump sum or in payments similar to paychecks to students who are unable to work due to workplace closures related to COVID-19.
  • Leaving school due to COVID-19: For students who left an institution of higher education early due to COVID-19, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides protections. First, it excludes the term from counting negatively toward lifetime subsidized loan eligibility, or Pell Grant eligibility. The CARES Act also states that students who left their institutions are not required to return Pell Grants or federal student loans. Finally, the student's grades do not affect a student's federal academic requirements to continue to receive Pell Grants or student loans.
  • TEACH Grant or Teacher Loan Forgiveness: For educators who could not finish their year of teaching service as a result of COVID-19, the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allows for their partial year of service to be counted as a full year of service toward TEACH grant obligations or Teacher Loan Forgiveness. The CARES Act also waives a requirement that educators must serve consecutive years of teaching service for Teacher Loan Forgiveness eligibility, if a teacher's service is not consecutive as a result of COVID-19.