A blog on the latest news and events for ACU faculty and staff
Join the Allen Ridge family for our grand opening celebration on September 17th. Starting at 11:30 a.m., with a community ribbon cutting, this celebration is FREE to the public! Enjoy great food from all of our Allen Ridge establishments, sales, specials, giveaways, family fun activities, scavenger hunt and a LIVE concert at 6 p.m. on our grounds! You won’t want to miss it!
The U.S. Department of Education’s temporary but significant waiver to PSLF program rules expires on Oct. 31, 2022. The Limited PSLF Waiver waiver allows borrowers to receive credit for past periods of repayment that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF. The waiver is available to borrowers until Oct. 31, 2022. You can learn more about the waiver and if it applies to you here. We encourage you to try again if you previously applied for PSLF and were denied because of your loan type.
Here are some of the critical improvements available under the Limited PSLF Waiver:
| • | Under standard PSLF program rules, if you consolidate your loans, only qualifying payments that you make on the new Direct Consolidation Loan count toward the 120 payments required for PSLF. Any payments you made on the loans before you consolidated them would not count. However, if you consolidate these loans into a Direct Loan before Oct. 31, you may be able to receive qualifying credit for payments made previously on those loans through the waiver. |
| • | If you have Federal Family Education Program loans, Perkins, or other federal student loans, you’ll need to consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for PSLF. |
| • | Past repayment periods will now count whether or not you made a payment on time, for the total amount due, on a qualifying repayment plan. |
To take advantage of the waiver:
| 1. | If you don’t have one, register for a Federal Student Aid ID at StudentAid.gov/fsa-id/create-account. |
| 2. | Have or get Direct Loans. You can consolidate your loans at StudentAid.gov/consolidation. |
| 3. | Submit a PSLF form to certify employment for PSLF that you want credit for through the waiver. You can generate a PSLF form for ACU to sign at StudentAid.gov/pslf. In the PSLF Help Tool, it’s essential to use the appropriate Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). For our employees, when searching for Abilene Christian University, our EIN is 750851900. After the PSLF Help Tool gives you a PDF, please sign and date it and submit it to Human Resources for signature. |
There’s no specific application for the waiver. Once borrowers have submitted PSLF forms and/or consolidated into the Direct Loan program, they will automatically opt in and receive forgiveness if they qualify or an increased qualifying payment count.
This opportunity is time sensitive. Borrowers must consolidate their loans and/or submit a PSLF form before Oct. 31. Learn more at StudentAid.gov/PSLFWaiver.
The Department of History and Global Studies and the Graduate School of Theology will host a memorial service for Dr. Andrea Di Stefano on September 20, 2022, at 11:00 a.m. in Chapel on the Hill.
Please plan to join us for Opening Assembly Monday, August 29, at 11 a.m., in Moody Coliseum.
Monday classes beginning at 10 a.m. should be dismissed at 10:30 a.m. to give everyone adequate time to attend Opening Assembly. Offices should close at 10:30 a.m. so that all staff can attend. Program participants, including band and choir members, are excused from the 10 a.m. class meeting after checking in with the instructor. Faculty will gather in Teague Special Events Center in full regalia by 10:45 a.m.
Several awards were announced during Pre-Session. Congratulations to the following award recipients:
Faculty Awards
Staff Awards
Opening Assembly will be Monday, August 29, at 11 a.m. in the newly renovated Moody Coliseum. This year’s speaker is April Anthony, chair of the ACU Board of Trustees. We haven’t been able to celebrate this ceremonial start to the academic year for the past two years because of the Moody construction and the pandemic. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
Also, please plan to attend Monday Chapel in Moody Coliseum each week during the academic year.
Faculty and Staff are invited to the new Moody Coliseum for Pre-Session Wednesday, August 24, 12:15-4:30 p.m. Our time together will begin with lunch from 12:15-12:45 p.m. The meeting will include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training led by Chief Diversity Officer Anthony Williams, a devotional time and a presentation of the Strategic Plan by Dr. Phil Schubert, president, and Dr. Robert Rhodes, provost. Annual awards will also be announced. All offices should close or operated by student employees so that Staff can attend.
ACUPD wants to remind everyone to ensure they are registered and current with the ACU ALERT system. ACU ALERT is used by ACUPD to alert the campus community to crisis events, emergencies, or weather-related delays/closures. You can register or check your ALERT status at acu.edu/acualert. If you have questions or issues with how to update or enroll, please email acupolice@acu.edu.
As the world continues to learn to manage COVID-19, ACU remains committed to our community’s health, safety and well-being. We’ll return to standard health protocols in Fall 2022. Individuals who are ill should stay home until they are well and follow the directives of their healthcare provider. Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or other highly communicable diseases, including Monkeypox, should notify the Weber Medical Clinic. The Health Response Team meets regularly to monitor infection trends within our community based on data from the clinic. The ACU Coronavirus website has been updated with information regarding COVID-19 protocols for Fall 2022.
To express our appreciation for you and provide opportunities for you to rest and recharge, we have arranged for you to have membership access to the nearby properties of Refuge Ranch. This organization was founded by a fifth-generation Wildcat and former employee, Jason Groves, and his wife, Amber. It is intentionally designed to make it easy to say “yes” to reconnecting with each other, ourselves and our Creator. These short videos of Refuge Ranch in Buffalo Gap and Fort Refuge in Tuscola provide a glimpse of the array of experiences you can enjoy throughout the year with others or alone. View the calendar for current experiences.
Your membership includes everyone in your household and provides these benefits:
Refuge Ranch is celebrating 2 years, and your ACU membership allows you to attend the celebration on August 27th. Details and RSVP here. Look for the fall calendar to be released soon and save the date for a private ACU event on November 3rd.
For any questions or to make a request, email info@myrefugeranch.org.
