About $40 billion has been included for higher education and student loan relief in the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill signed into law by President Joe Biden on Thursday.

Any federal student debt forgiven after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2026, will not be taxed as income, as it was prior to this legislation.

"While the new stimulus package includes tax-free forgiveness of student loans, it does not ultimately solve the problem of student loan debt in the country," Steve Muszynski, student loan expert and founder and CEO of Splash Financial, said in an email statement.

Bipartisanship "is essential for tackling the problem of student loans, and as delinquencies on student loan repayments remain at an all-time high," he said.

This is the largest federal allocation for institutions of higher education since the onset of the pandemic last March. Colleges and universities received about $14 billion last March as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act's Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. As part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, colleges and universities received an additional $23 billion in December.

At least 50% of the funds must go to students directly for emergency financial aid, the bill says, though it is up to each college to distribute the aid. The funds from this legislation may be used for tuition, as well as emergency costs such as health care, housing, food, mental health care and child care, according to The Wall Street Journal.

It is unclear for now whether international students or those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program will be eligible for aid from their institutions. However, some of the emergency aid goes outside student loans.

In previous rounds of COVID-19 relief bills, students who are claimed as dependents have not qualified for stimulus payments. This may change for some under new guidelines. Payments totaling $1,400 per household member now include adult dependents, though that money will go to the taxpayer and not the student. This will be the third batch of checks sent out to qualifying Americans since the start of the pandemic.

Other facets of the legislation include unemployment benefits that continue the $300-per-week payments through September 6. Additionally, tens of billions of dollars will be allocated to coronavirus testing and contact tracing, increasing the size of the public health workforce and funding vaccination distribution.

Biden signed the bill Thursday, a day earlier than the White House had planned and a day after the legislation passed through Congress.

Sophia Solano contributed to this report.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

• Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
• Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
• Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

The administration of President Donald Trump said on Monday it will review Columbia University's federal contracts and grants over allegations of antisemitism, which it says the educational institution has shown inaction in tackling.

Rights advocates note rising antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias since U.S. ally Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza began after Palestinian Hamas militants' deadly October 2023 attack.

The Justice Department said a month ago it formed a task force to fight antisemitism. The U.S. Departments of Health and Education and the General Services Administration jointly made the review announcement on Monday.

"The Federal Government's Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism is considering Stop Work Orders for $51.4 million in contracts between Columbia University and the Federal Government," the joint statement said.

The agencies said no contracting actions had been taken yet.

"The task force will also conduct a comprehensive review of the more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to Columbia University."

The agencies did not respond to requests for comment on whether there were similar reviews over allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias.

Columbia had no immediate comment. It previously said it made efforts to tackle antisemitism.

College protests

Trump has signed an executive order to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests.

Columbia was at the center of college protests in which demonstrators demanded an end to U.S. support for Israel due to the humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's assault on Gaza. There were allegations of antisemitism and Islamophobia in protests and counter-protests.

During last summer's demonstrations around the country, classes were canceled, some university administrators resigned and student protesters were suspended and arrested.

While the intensity of protests has decreased in recent months, there were some demonstrations last week in New York after the expulsion of two students at Columbia University-affiliated Barnard College and after New York Governor Kathy Hochul ordered the removal of a Palestinian studies job listing at Hunter College.

A third student at Barnard College has since been expelled, this one related to the occupation of the Hamilton Hall building at Columbia last year.