SEPTEMBER 28, 2023 — The federal government is poised to shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, October 1, if lawmakers are unable to come to an agreement about how the government will be funded for the next fiscal year. While the shutdown will impact federal employees, it will have a minimal impact on UTSA.
Here are the latest updates:
Impact on researchers
A number of grant-making federal agencies will be closed and/or working with limited staff and resources if a shutdown were to occur. Every federal agency is required to have a contingency plan to operate in the event of a funding lapse. The UTSA Office of the Vice President for Research, Economic Development, and Knowledge Enterprise (REDKE) is closely monitoring the contingency plans of agencies that provide funding to UTSA investigators and will communicate updates as they become available.
Existing grant awards and sponsored programs will continue as planned if there is a shutdown. Researchers should continue to work on their grants and contracts unless their agency or program officer has advised them otherwise.
UTSA Research Service Centers (RSCs) are prepared to assist the university community with federal grant proposals, awards and queries during any shutdown. Investigators at the university are strongly encouraged to heed deadlines for grant proposals that they are already working on, as those deadlines will not likely change and submitted proposals will be placed in a queue for review when the government reopens. Pending requests, such as approval to re-budget, etc., should be discussed with the appropriate RSC director and may need to be put on hold.
Federal agency peer review panels are likely to be postponed.
UTSA faculty and staff who receive an official notice directly from a federal agency should share this information with their RSC director to develop an interim plan.
Impact on students receiving federal financial aid
Federal financial aid programs and operations are funded through the federal fiscal year (September 2024). There should be no issues with processing and receiving federal aid if there is a government shutdown.
Impact on veterans
Education benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) should be unaffected for current students who are continuing to use their benefits.
VA employees based at UTSA in the VetSuccess on Campus (VSOC) program and Veterans Integration to Academic Leadership (VITAL) program will work as scheduled. The federally funded programs for continuing UTSA students will continue to be processed. Depending on its length, though, a shutdown could affect new students who are applying for an education benefit through the VA. This is due to slower VA processing for new benefit applications.
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