Duane Morris – Page 4

May 26, 2021 by Duane Morris

Webinar Replay: Reviewing the Third Round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF III)

A replay of the webinar, “Reviewing the Third Round of Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF III),” is now available.

About the Program
On January 14, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education published information regarding the process, timing and allocation levels for the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA), Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF II funds) contained in the 2021 Consolidated Appropriations Act. Subsequently, the Department published guidance documents on February 25, March 19 and March 22. In addition, on March 10, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), providing yet another round of direct grant funding (HEERF III funds).

May 18, 2021 by Duane Morris

COVID-19 Vaccination Policy for Higher Education Institutions: Issues to Consider

As states have opened COVID-19 vaccinations to all individuals 16 and older (and are expanding to age 12 and older, based on the CDC advisory committee’s recent recommendation), institutions of higher education, like many other employers, are considering whether to encourage or possibly mandate their employees to receive a vaccination. Unlike other organizations, institutions of higher education have the added quandary of whether to encourage or mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for students in an effort to return to full in-person instruction.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

April 30, 2021 by Duane Morris

NLRB Withdraws Proposed Rule About Student Workers – What Does It Mean for Private Colleges and Universities?

On March 15, 2021, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew a proposed rule that would have established that students who perform services for compensation at private colleges and universities in connection with their studies are not “employees” within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act. With additional legislation and rulemaking in the pipeline, private colleges and universities need to pay close attention to what is happening on the federal stage, as well as on their campuses.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm website.

April 12, 2021 by Duane Morris

Webinar Replay: Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF): The Latest Guidance for Schools

A webinar replay of “Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF): The Latest Guidance for Schools” is now available.

March 1, 2021 by Duane Morris

USCIS Makes Optional Practical Training Completion Easier for F-1 Students as Agency Faces Delays

Given substantial delays in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s (USCIS) issuance of receipt notices and adjudication of I-765 applications for employment authorization by F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT), USCIS is making it easier for students to complete their 12-month OPT within the requisite 14 months.

To read the full text of this Duane Morris Alert, please visit the firm’s website.

February 17, 2021 by Duane Morris

Have COVID’s Pricing and Learning Disruptions Opened a Pandora’s Box?

A common question for colleges today is whether to reduce tuition prices if they cannot provide on-campus classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The short answer, both legally and morally, is that colleges should not charge students for services they cannot or do not deliver.

The ultimate answer is more complex and requires a disaggregating analysis of the services that that were included in the price of tuition, including a review of the value associated with in-person interactions.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris partner Tony Guida, please visit the University Business website.

October 22, 2020December 17, 2020 by Duane Morris

2020 ASU GSV Summit Session Replays Available

Duane Morris was a sponsor of the 2020 ASU GSV summit. Several of our attorneys presented at this year’s virtual conference. Below are replays from select sessions.

Ed Tech Policy Session | September 29, 2020

Consumers of education services – students of all ages and the entities that serve them – are hungry for dramatic changes in the education landscape that will deliver increased access, equity, affordability, quality and workforce relevance. Ed Tech has begun to deliver on those needs in extraordinary ways, and the potential is untapped. However, innovation in the market has outpaced how existing regulations and policy govern education as a service. This session will: (1) review friction points our lawyers have observed between Ed Tech models and the current state, federal and accreditor regulatory regimes that apply to educational businesses and educational institutions (and how to spot, anticipate and plan for them), (2) report on recent changes in federal law and policy to promote and foster innovation (including the U.S. Department of Education’s new Distance Education and Innovation Final Rule and increased accreditor flexibilities) and (3) discuss threats and opportunities that may arise from the next Congress and Administration, and how Ed Tech stakeholders can help shape education policy.

Speakers

Katherine Brodie, Partner, Duane Morris LLP
Kristina Gill, Special Counsel, Duane Morris LLP
Nicholas Kent, Senior Education Policy Advisor, Duane Morris LLP

Schools Not Tools | September 30, 2020

EdTech providers increasingly are crossing over from a supporting role to education delivery. Join us to talk about what the regulatory and legal ramifications are to being a school.

Moderator: Tony Guida, Partner, Duane Morris LLP
Speaker: Michelle Donovan, Partner, Duane Morris LLP

Privacy, Data Protection and Intellectual Property Considerations for EdTech Startups | October 8, 2020

This interactive session will cover some of the common legal issues that emerging EdTech companies grapple with in the areas of IP ownership, privacy, and data protection.

Speaker: Michelle Donovan, Partner, Duane Morris LLP

September 22, 2020 by Duane Morris

COVID-19 Can Change Everything—If We Let It

According to Dave Clayton, senior vice president of consumer insights at Strada Education Network, hybrid education “was a consistently popular option” throughout a recent survey taken by his organization. It beat out both online and in-person when it came to which option Americans were likely to recommend, as well as which option offered the best preparation for joining the workforce.

Will this change higher education? Of course it will. The market to find students gets more competitive for colleges every year. That trend is predicted to continue long into the future. If today’s junior high schoolers already know that they want “both,” this shift in consumer demand won’t go unnoticed. If college leadership wants the freshman class of 2026 to enroll in their institution, they would be foolish not to adapt.

To read the full text of this article by Duane Morris partner Edward M. Cramp, please visit the University Business website.

September 3, 2020 by Duane Morris

Active Ransomware Campaign Targeting Education Institutions

By Michelle Hon Donovan

The Department of Education issued a security alert stating that multiple schools have reported that they have suffered ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a type of malware that uses encryption to block access to a computer system unless a ransom is paid. Ransomware is commonly embedded in email attachments that infect a computer when opened. However, the Department of Education states that phishing attacks have been the primary method used in these reported cases, where the attackers used phishing schemes to gain access to account credentials and then used those credentials to install the ransomware.

The Department of Education recommends that schools implement the following cybersecurity practices to protect against such attacks:

Establish a data backup process, ensure the backups are available and accessible, and store the backups offline
Implement multi-factor authentication to mitigate account compromises
Regularly patch hardware and software
Continuously monitor institutional network to detect unauthorized access and malware
Create and update your Incident Response Plan
Ensure training resources emphasize phishing, as it is frequently the compromising entry point for cyber attacks

The Department also reminds schools that ransomware attacks should be reported immediately to the FSA security team.

July 13, 2020September 22, 2020 by Duane Morris

Colleges Fear COVID-19 Spread, Class Actions Over Tuition When Welcoming Back Students

Colleges and universities across the country are beginning to figure out what the fall semester for students will look like. In-house counsel at the schools that have chosen to bring students back to campus full-time need to worry about furthering the spread of the new coronavirus and class action litigation over refunds for tuition, housing and service fees.

It is too early to tell how courts will rule on these kinds of lawsuits, Ed Cramp, a partner at Duane Morris in San Diego said. From his perspective, how education is delivered to a student is not something guaranteed by the university. However, the suits asking for a refund of fees for services not used could be problematic.

“The issue for the institutions is that many of them just don’t have the money. It is not a matter of, ‘Let me just write you a check,’” Cramp said.

To read the full text of this article in Corporate Counsel magazine quoting Duane Morris partner Ed Cramp, please visit law.com (subscription required).