They are the ones in direct contact with the Department of Ed. It’s possible your aid may just have been put on a hold while they were waiting for clarification on what funding is exempt from the order. Or they could have had another reason for holding aid, something not related to the big mess at all. The financial aid office is really the only one who can explain their rules and procedures. Keep in mind that they are trying, like everyone else, to figure things out.
Yesterday, the Ed Department issued guidance saying the OMB confirmed that Title IV aid (specifically Pell and Loans) would not be impacted by the directive, so schools who were holding back have probably already begun the processing to resume disbursement, as long as the student otherwise qualifies.
Also, if you are already at midterms, you may already be past your school’s census date and would owe your tuition regardless of funding. Make sure you have all of the facts before making any decision about withdrawing.
Your financial aid office should be able to explain what’s up with your funding and what their rules are on withdrawing from classes.
I should probably add that financial aid offices are currently being slammed with requests for info, institutional meetings, and trying to get up to date information from the department, so try to be patient when attempting to contact them and try not to worry if it takes awhile to respond and sort things out.
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