Happy National Higher Ed Month!
October is National Higher Education Month! NEA has several events throughout the month. Check out the events and register at http://nea.org/nhem.
October 6, @ 7 PM ET/4 PM PT Join Representative Katie Porter and leaders from NEA's National Council for Higher Education to talk about higher education issues currently before Congress.
Colleges and Universities Can Use COVID Funds to Pay Off Employees’ Student Loans
The NEA's Collective Bargaining and Member Advocacy Department has developed the below fact sheet about another use of COVID relief funds. Employers can create and support educational assistance programs that pay off employees’ student loans tax-free. Offering to cover an employee’s student loan payments can help Institutions recruit and retain educators in response to the pandemic, and these payments will not be treated like taxable income for the employee if distributed through an educational assistance program.
The second and third attachments below are fact sheets about the extent of educational debt among our higher ed members—faculty and Education Support Professionals or ESPs (graduate assistants are included in this membership group).