COVID-19 Resources

Furthermore, the University wants to make sure that any Nebraskan who wants to get a college education can. And we don't want cost to get in the way of getting your degree. With COVID-19 throwing many lives into disarray, some students may feel that college is not within their reach right now. We're here to say: it is. Therefore, we are now offering the Nebraska Promise program that covers undergraduate tuition at the University of Nebraska for students who meet academic qualifications and have a family income of $60,000 or less (Adjusted Gross Income or AGI) or are Pell Grant-eligible. File your 2020-21 FAFSA by June 1st to be considered at visit https://nebraska.edu/nebraska-promise for more information!

Currently Enrolled Students

• On March 27th, 2020, Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), which President Trump signed into law. This bipartisan economic stimulus legislation contains significant resources for states, hospitals, businesses, organizations, families, and individuals to address the economic impact of COVID-19. For more information about the CARES Act and the University of Nebraska, visit nebraska.edu/CARES. For information on how the University of Nebraska-Lincoln has distributed the fund to UNL and NCTA students, visit https://financialaid.unl.edu/federal-cares-act.

• If you have not filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the current academic year, we highly encourage you to do so at studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa. You can still obtain financial aid for the current academic year, including federal student loans. Official communications from our office regarding your scholarships and financial aid are sent to your Husker email account. You may also review your financial aid status in MyRED. Sometimes we send mailed letters if we have not received a response via email, which we will now be sending to your permanent mailing address until further notice.
• If you or your family experiences changes in financial circumstances that impact information on the 2020-2021 FAFSA or an increase in expenses that results in an increase to your total cost of attendance (COA) for the current semester, you can request a Special Circumstances Re-Evaluation of your FAFSA or an increase to your COA through a financial aid review  by contacting Husker Hub at huskerhub@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-2030.
• Students residing on campus were encouraged to return to their place of permanent residence for social distancing. 
• • Students in campus residence halls who checked out by March 24 receive a 60% prorated refund of housing and meal costs between March 15 and the end of the spring semester. See the Housing COVID-19  FAQ on the University Housing website for more information. A refund is processed by reducing charges on your student account. If scholarships or financial aid were used to pay on-campus housing charges, those funds would be released to you to pay your off-campus expenses.
  • Students in campus residence halls who did not check out because they were not able to go home or have work or other commitments in Lincoln, continue to be supported where appropriate social distancing and enhanced preventative public health and hygiene measures are being actively encouraged. Visit the University Housing and Dining Services website for information about plans for students remaining in the halls.
  • Students in fraternity or sorority houses who moved out may or may not have received a refund, depending on the chapter. If you are in this or a similar situation where you did not receive a refund and need funds for living expenses, contact Husker Hub at huskerhub@unl.edu or 402-472-2030 to request a financial aid review.
• If you do not have a personal computer to study remotely, or a WiFi hotspot, you may request an increase in your cost of attendance (COA) for the cost of a computer or other hardware necessary to study remotely. Increasing your COA permits the option of additional loans or other types of aid to cover such cost. A cost estimate or a copy of the purchase receipt can be submitted for review. To begin the review process to request an increase in your cost of attendance (COA), contact Husker Hub at huskerhub@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-2030.
• If you are a Federal Work-Study (FWS) student employee, you may continue to get paid if you are unable to work due to the impact of COVID-19. Human resources and payroll supervisors for FWS students were notified how to process your pay. This is separate from, but similar to, the University's emergency leave for COVID-19 related absences, which is available to non-FWS student workers.
• If you declined your student loans earlier this academic year and would like them reinstated, you may request reinstatement by contacting Husker Hub at huskerhub@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-2030.
• If you are still located in the Lincoln area and unable to access affordable meals, you can email studentaffairs@unl.edu regarding meal options. Meal vouchers may be available and picked up on campus so that you can access a meal in the campus dining center.
• If you have a student parking pass, you can contact Parking and Transit Services at unlpts@unl.edu or 402-472-1800 regarding permit returns and refunds.
• If you are a current scholarship recipient, you may be concerned about your ability to meet scholarship renewal criteria to retain your scholarship for the upcoming academic year. Below are some flexibilities in place to help you make academic decisions this semester:
  • Certain academic policies and deadlines, such as the pass/no pass grading option and the last date to withdraw have been updated to allow you flexibility in adjusting to remote learning. See the Academics and Deadlines section of the campus COVID-19 website.
  • Renewal policies on scholarships that require 9 (nine) graded hours per semester are suspended for the Spring 2020 semester. This means your scholarship will not be impacted by changing courses to pass/no pass. This includes Regents, David, Chancellors, Traditions, Emerging Leaders, Nebraska Achievement Tuition Waiver, Nebraska Achievement $1,000, Davis-Chambers, Davis-Chambers Pathway, Heritage, Transfer Regents, and Transfer Nebraka Achievement Community College scholars.
  • Scholarship criteria is reviewed annually at the end of the Spring 2020 semester, after grades are submitted by instructors. If your scholarship is not renewed due to grade point average, credit completion, or other requirements of your scholarship, you can submit a scholarship appeal for extenuating circumstances, including the impact of COVID-19. Information about how to appeal your scholarship will be available at financialaid.unl.edu/scholarship-appeals.
•  If you are currently on a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Academic Plan, you may be concerned about your ability to meet the requirements of your Academic Plan in order to retain your financial aid eligibility, if your activities have been impacted by COVID-19. Through the recent federal legislation of the CARES Act, schools are allowed more flexibility with regard to the calculation of the completion rate (earned to attempted credit hour ratio) component of SAP for all financial aid recipients as well as those on a SAP Academic Plan.
  • At this time we suggest that should you need to withdraw from or take an incomplete in a course due to the impact of COVID-19 and the result of that action puts you in jeopardy of not meeting the Academic Plan requirements or the SAP for Financial Aid Recipients policy guidelines, please gather and retain documentation in support of your actions during your enrollment this semester. Once grades have posted for spring semester and the SAP calculation has been run, our office will contact you with regard to your next steps.

Incoming Students for Summer 2020 or Fall 2020

• If you have not filed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), we highly encourage you to do so at studentaid.ed.gov/fafsa. For summer, file the 2019-2020 FAFSA; for fall, file the 2020-2021 FAFSA
• The deadline for scholarship appeals for incoming freshmen has been extended to May 1, 2020.
• If you or your family experiences changes in financial circumstances, such as lost income or increased costs, that impact information on the FAFSA or an increase to your cost of attendance (COA), you can request a Special Circumstances Re-Evaluation of your FAFSA or an increase to your COA by contacting Husker Hub at huskerhub@unl.edu or by phone at 402-472-2030. Updates to the FAFSA are made on a case-by-case basis to more accurately reflect your financial need.

Former Students and Student Loan Repayment

•  President Trump announced that he is waiving interest on student loans held by the federal government and the U.S. Department of Education followed up to announce it is suspending federal student loan payments and waiving interest during this national emergency (see more details below under state and national announcements).
• If you are having difficulty making your student loan payment due to COVID-19 (or your parent is having difficulty repaying their parent loan), visit the Federal Student Aid's Coronavirus and Forbearance Info for Students, Borrowers, and Parents page. This page will be updated frequently and includes FAQ's for students and borrowers. You are also encouraged to contact your loan servicer. A loan servicer is a company that is contracted with the federal government to handle the billing and other services on federal student loans held by the U.S. Department of Education. You can find out who your loan servicer is by logging into studentaid.gov or calling the Federal Student Aid Information Center (FSAIC) at 1-800-433-3243. Below is a list of contracted federal loan servicers and their contact information.
• • CornerStone 1-800-663-1662 (see the CornerStone Coronavirus FAQ page)
  • FedLoan Servicing (PHEAA) 1-800-699-2908 (see the FedLoan Servicing COVID-19 Relief for Student Loans Borrowers page)
  • Granite State – GSMR 1-888-556-0022 (see the GSMR Deferment and Forbearance Update page)
  • Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. 1-800-236-4300 (see the Great Lakes Important Coronavirus Information page)
  • HESC/EdFinancial 1-855-337-6884 (see the EdFinancial Important Updates on COVID-19 page)
  • MOHELA 1-888-866-4352 (see coronavirus information on main website)
  • Navient 1-800-722-1300 (see the Navient Updates on COVID-19 and Your Student Loans page)
  • Nelnet 1-888-486-4722 (see the Nelnet Important Coronavirus Information page)
  • OSLA Servicing 1-866-264-9762 (see coronavirus information on main website)
  • ECSI 1-866-313-3797 (see the ECSI Disaster Assistance information posted at https://borrower.efpls.com/)
• If you borrowed a Perkins Loan (which is not held by the U.S. Department of Education) and are having difficulty making your loan payment(s), the school at which you borrowed the loan is your loan servicer. If you borrowed the Perkins Loan at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), visit the Office of Student Accounts website for more information.

Scholarship Donors and Friends of the University

• Husker Pantry+: You can purchase items off of the Husker Pantry+ Amazon wish list that will be shipped directly to the pantry. The Husker Patnry+ will also accept monetary gifts made to the University of Nebraska Foundation, fund #01140700.
• Emergency Financial Aid:
• • You can give to the N Fund - Student Scholarships for students with financial need, administered by the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid.
  • You can give to the Bob and Phyllis Devaney Emergency Student Aid Fund administered by Student Affairs.
• The University of Nebraska Emergency Assistance Fund was created to help support students and employees on all four campuses who face sudden financial hardship due to crisis situations, such as last year’s flooding, difficult personal circumstances, and now the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Online gifts via the NU Foundation can be made via credit or debit card, and an electronic donation receipt will be emailed to you. Memorial gifts can also be made through the Foundation website.

UNL Community Announcements

• University-Wide COVID-19 information and UNL campus information.
• City of Lincoln, Nebraska COVID-19 response
• Latest news and updates from the Governor of Nebraska

State and National Announcements (related to finances and financial aid)

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website
• March 5, 2020: The U.S. Department of Education announced guidance to institutions of higher education for interruptions of study related to Coronavirus (COVID-19) regarding financial aid for study abroad, approval to offer distance education, and Federal Work-Study (FWS).
• March 13, 2020: President Trump announced that he has "waived interested on all student loans held by federal government agencies" until further notice (whitehouse.gov).
• • March 20, 2020: Delivering on President Trump's Promise, Secretary DeVos Suspends Federal Student Loan Payments, Waives Interest During National Emergency
  • • Interest rates on all federally-held students loans held by the Federal government will be set to 0% for at least 60 days. 
    • Borrowers will also have the option to suspend their payments for at least two months during this national emergency. 
    • Borrowers who are or become more than 31 days delinquent on their payments will receive an automatic suspension of payments.
• March 21, 2020: Federal legislation was quickly passed on an emergency bill (S.3503) to protect student veterans so they can continue to receive their full G.I. Bill benefits even if their college moves to remote instruction.