The federal government shut down at midnight on October 1 after Congress failed to reach a deal on funding, according to CNN. The day prior, on September 30, Stevens’ President Nariman Farvardin sent out an email warning about the possible impending shutdown, as well as a discussion on possible future issues that students and staff might be concerned about. He explained multiple topics such as financial aid, immigration status, and federal research for anyone who may be worried about the shutdown and wondering how it will affect them.
The first topic he explained is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) processing, and how it may be delayed, but that current federal aid disbursements should initially continue. Fortunately federal work-study will not be affected so this will not be a concern for students. According to Associated Press (AP) News, the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) explains that their core operations will continue during the shutdown, meaning federal student loans and Pell Grants will continue to be disbursed without issues.
The next topic President Farvardin explained was about international students. Luckily, the shutdown will not affect immigration status if a student is in F-1/J-1 status sponsored by Stevens, although there might be delays with different processes like Social Security issuance. He warned against international travel because of uncertainties in federal immigration policies. Farvardin advised to carry a hard copy of your most recent I-94 record and report address updates through the ISSS portal to not have any issues.
For faculty and researchers, he said that different federal research agencies (National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD) and DOE) will pause reviews and new awards while the government is shut down. There also might be restrictions for faculty working in federal labs or on cooperative agreements. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation will post updated relevant information on their website as it becomes available to keep everyone up to date on what is going on with that.
To campus partners, Farvardin said that federal collaborations and site visits may be postponed temporarily until normal operations resume, when the government is hopefully not shut down anymore.
According to CBS News, the Senate voted again on October 6 at 5:30 p.m. on whether to keep the government shut down or not, and on what bills to pass. Multiple funding bills have been proposed by both sides, but neither has come out on top in the stalemate, nor passed the 60-vote threshold needed to advance the bills, meaning the shutdown continues, which worries many Americans. The shutdown most likely will continue through this week.
As the government continues to be shut down, students and staff may be anxious about issues with funding, enrollment, or research. If students have any questions on financial aid, Farvardin tells them to contact the Office of Financial Aid or to contact ISSS at isss@stevens.edu or 201-216-5189 for international students. Faculty and researchers can contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at osp@stevens.edu with questions on research funding.
