According to Texas State officials, the shutdown of the federal government is not likely to have impacts on classes, but may disrupt research and international travel.
The federal government shutdown began at midnight Eastern Time on Oct. 1, when the U.S. Congress failed to pass a funding bill. During the shutdown, funding to most federal programs will lapse, causing employees to be fired, furloughed, meaning they would be temporarily laid off, and facilities to close.
“Any federal shutdown is unlikely to have direct impact on classes at TXST,” Jayme Blaschke, assistant director of the office of media relations at Texas State, wrote in an email to The Star. “The Department of Education will continue to disburse student aid such as Pell Grants and Federal Direct Student loans, and student loan borrowers will still be required to make payments on their outstanding student debt.”
While the Department of Education will continue to disburse financial aid, their contingency to deal with a shutdown requires them to furlough more than 2,000 employees.
“If the lapse lasts more than one week, the total number of employees working at some point during the shutdown would be approximately 330 [full time equivalent]; approximately 2,117 employees would be furloughed,” the Department of Education wrote in a memo.
This comes just nine months after President Donald Trump ordered the dismantling of the Department of Education, which means the Department of Education will be left with a skeleton crew of essential personnel in charge of overseeing loan and grant payments.
During the shutdown, federal grant funding for research projects will lapse. The impacts that will have depends on the length of the shutdown.
“Researchers receiving federal grants may have some challenges as the government shuts down and they will not be able to contact their program managers, etc,” Blaschke wrote in his email. “It is unclear whether a prolonged shutdown will have an impact on positions funded by federal grants.”
Blaschke also wrote that the shutdown could impact international travel.
“The closure of U.S. Consulates overseas may slow down or stop visa issues and it may have impacts on enrollment and travel for TXST faculty and staff,” Blaschke wrote.
