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On Wednesday, October 1, the United States Congress was unable to reach a bipartisan agreement on a new or stopgap government funding bill needed to keep federal agencies open beyond the expiration of the current Continuing Resolution period, prompting a federal government shutdown.

While we anticipate that a short federal government shutdown would have a relatively minimal immediate impact on ÃÛèÖÊÓƵ’s financial aid programs, educational services and current federally funded research efforts, we want to assure you that University leadership will continue to closely monitor and share appropriate developments and/or guidance with the University community as the situation progresses.

As we move ahead, the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, the Veterans and Military Student Services Center and the Office of the Bursar are prepared to support students who have questions and/or concerns related to how the federal government shutdown may impact them. While the Department of Veterans Affairs has indicated that education benefits will continue to be paid during this time, those with specific questions may reach out to our Veterans and Military Student Services Center at veteranscenter@ohio.edu. 

In the near term, work on federally funded projects can continue as usual unless the funding agency issues a stop-work order. In addition, for proposal submissions, all published submission deadlines remain in effect. If you are currently working on a proposal submission, it will be vital to engage with the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), as there will be little to no support on the federal side for submissions during this time. Hence, submitting well in advance of the deadline will be important to ensure that a compliant proposal is submitted and time-stamped before the submission deadline.

If at any time you receive any communication from the funding agency, you must forward it to OSP. If a stop-work notification is received, departments or centers may be liable for all expenditures with transaction dates after the effective date of the stop-work order. If a stop-work order is received, OSP will work with Grants Accounting to comply with the order and notify departments accordingly.

If a prolonged shutdown occurs (i.e., greater than 30 days), further guidance will be provided by the OSP. Faculty and staff with specific questions about federally funded research or upcoming travel to a federal destination or federally funded workshop/conference should contact their Sponsored Programs Manager or orsp@ohio.edu.