Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to you this week from Atlanta where NAICU is holding its Spring Board and Committee meetings. As always, it is so rewarding and energizing to be with our members and to hear and participate in so many fulsome conversations about the issues impacting private, nonprofit higher education.

The big policy headlines this week were centered on the House majority garnering enough votes to pass the Limit, Save, Grow Act, marking the first step in the debt ceiling and budget process that will unfold over the next few months.

As expected, the bill proposes to increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion and drastically cut government spending to reduce the deficit by $4.5 trillion over 10 years. The Senate is not expected to take up this bill, and the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy stating that the President would veto the bill. At some point soon, the House, Senate, and White House will need to take steps to move toward an agreement to address the debt ceiling and avoid default.

On the budget front, it will take longer for the House and Senate to reach an agreement on this year’s spending totals. This gives you additional time to reinforce with policy makers your appreciation for their continued bipartisan support of the Pell Grant program, and remind them of the importance of increased funding for all the federal student aid programs.

In other news, earlier this week, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges launched the Council on Higher Education as a Strategic Asset (HESA). HESA is a multi-sector coalition focused on ensuring America’s global competitive position by proposing new models for higher education policy, funding, and collaboration. I was honored to be asked to participate in the council and am proud to serve as one of its commissioners. This is an important coalition focused on the future of higher education. I will be sure to keep you updated on its work.

This week’s Washington Update reports on updates being made to the College Scorecard to collect additional data from institutions, the ability for colleges and universities with Confucius Institutes to apply for a waiver to receive Department of Defense funding, and available grants from the Department of Education’s Modeling and Simulation Program.

 

Barbara K. Mistick

Barbara

President
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities