Back to School Prep: Monkeypox, COVID, Public Service Loan Forgiveness for Your Campus

August 19, 2022

​With the fall semester about to begin, the Biden administration is getting the word out to campuses about two key topics: Preparing for the latest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the new challenge of monkeypox, and how staff, alumni, and other institutional stakeholders can take advantage of the changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline.

Preparing for Monkeypox and COVID-19  

The American College Health Association (ACHA) and ACE are hosting a webinar town hall, "Safe Return to Campus: Preparing for Monkeypox and COVID-19," for college presidents, campus health professionals, and student administrators on Wednesday, Aug. 24 from 2:00-3:15 p.m. EDT.  

White House Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator Dr. Demetre Daskalakis and officials from the CDC and ACHA will discuss COVID-19 and Monkeypox mitigation to ensure a safe and successful year as students return to campus this fall. There will be an opportunity for webinar attendees to ask questions.

The webinar has reached capacity, but it’s still possible to watch via livestream. The only difference is livestream attendees will not be able to ask questions.

Spread the Word About Public S​​ervice Loan Forgiveness

The Department of Education (ED) has made temporary changes to the PSLF program that expand the benefit to more nonprofit employees. The deadline to apply for forgiveness under the temporary waiver is Oct. 31—but first, borrowers need to know about it.  

To make the information more widely known, ED has planned a series of Days of Action, the first on Wednesday, Aug. 24. ED has produced several resources that can help inform staff, alumni, and others about the changes:

• Partner toolkit
• Employer toolkit
• Stakeholder resource website
• PSLF website with a simple 3-Step Eligibility Tool and marketing tools
  

Colleges and universities can share how they’re participating using this link.

For more detail on the waiver and what it means for campuses and borrowers, watch the webinar ACE hosted with ED in July. ACE and six other higher education associations have urged Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to extend the Oct. 31 PSLF waiver deadline in order to better align with proposed regulatory changes.