(Excerpts from Higher Ed Dive News)

• The U.S. Department of Education is giving colleges more flexibility to use federal relief money provided under the second major coronavirus rescue package, which Congress passed in December.
• The Trump administration limited the second funding wave to costs incurred beginning in late December. But the guidance from the Education Department, released Friday, states institutions can use the money for lost revenue or expenses that date far back as March 13, 2020, when Trump declared a national emergency over the spreading coronavirus.
• The agency also released an FAQ Friday describing what constitutes "lost revenue" and how colleges can calculate that amount. In that document, the department "strongly" recommended colleges devote the maximum amount of aid possible to emergency grants for students who have been disadvantaged by the pandemic. The department's directive makes clear colleges can use the funds to eliminate students' debt to institutions.