The guidance allows colleges that must continue offering online classes to stay eligible for federal funding without going through the typical review process required to launch online and distance education programs. Without the extension, schools may have been forced to reopen their campuses before they were ready, lawmakers pointed out in a letter to the department last week.
The document is largely similar to guidance the department issued in March, laying out expectations for colleges and their accreditors about the degree of flexibility they had in moving courses online, observers note.
