What’s going on:
You might have heard that as of a few years ago, Carpe Mundi students lost access to financial aid (FAFSA) for their Carpe Mundi experience due to a federal audit of PSU. We got word last week that the Federal Department of Education is changing its guidance on the use of Title IV Funding (which means FAFSA, Pell Grants, and Direct Loans, among other financial aid) for “third party services” (organizations like Carpe Diem/Carpe Mundi and many others).
The proposed guidance states that Title IV funding cannot be used by students “if the servicer (or its subcontractors) is located outside of the United States or is owned or operated by an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or national or a lawful U.S. permanent resident. This prohibition applies to both foreign and domestic institutions.”
What we understand this to mean:
This is way bigger than just Carpe Mundi.
Starting on September 1, 2023 students at any US institution won’t be able to use their financial aid for study abroad programs that are run by an entity outside of the university.
We fear this means that financial aid won't be accessible for nearly any study abroad experience.
We see this is a huge equity issue!! Financial aid is instrumental in increasing access to study abroad programs for low-income students. Without it, our fear is that even fewer Pell-eligible students will be able to access study-abroad opportunities.
What you can do about it:
Submit comments regarding the guidance presented in this Dear Colleague Letter before March 30, 2023 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations.gov, under Docket ID ED-2022-OPE-0103. You can either type in your comments directly, or upload a PDF of your letter.
Here’s a template to get you started if you need support!
Submit your commentary via the steps above AND write to your federal representatives.