Dear Colleagues,

Yesterday, the Senate achieved its goal of bipartisan approval of all 12 funding bills at the committee level before the end of July, including the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee bill, which funds student aid. According to reporting, the committee approved legislation that would provide $79.6 billion in discretionary funding for the Education Department for the coming 2024 fiscal year. That’s nearly the same level as the current year, though several individual programs would see increases. One of the programs receiving a funding boost is the Pell Grant, which received a $250 increase, bringing the maximum award to $7,645. (See our lede story below for more details.) 

As of late Thursday afternoon, funding for Federal Work-Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants has not yet been made public.

As a result, the House and Senate are leaving town for the August recess with vastly different approaches to the FY 2024 appropriations hanging in the balance. The House consideration of spending bills has stalled due to continued infighting among Republicans to further lower funding levels below those set in the Fiscal Responsibility Act. With drastic cuts to student aid in the House bill and slight increases in the Senate, this sets the stage for difficult budget battles in September. 

I returned to Washington earlier this week after spending several days in Utah as part of the summer workshop of our National Association of Independent College and University State Executives (NAICUSE). This annual meeting is important for many reasons, one of which is hearing the key higher education policy issues states are facing. The states are often incubators for legislative and regulatory proposals at the federal level. These conversations often give us a head start in preparing for possible federal action.

I’d like to thank NAICUSE Chair Robert LeFevre (Michigan Independent Colleges & Universities) and his team for developing a packed and robust agenda and Matt Lindsey (Kansas Independent College Association) and his team for organizing the event and activities. I would also like to thank NAICU Board Chair and Elon University President Connie Book for her opening remarks and providing insightful perspectives on leadership and governance.

Reiterating the importance of Congressional advocacy, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) encouraged attendees to engage with their elected officials about the value of higher education and on issues of importance to their campuses and students.

As an example, your advocacy in support of federal student aid has been critical and is having an impact.

However, we must keep up the pressure. As a reminder, here is our Action Alert from last week that includes more details and talking points to help with communications to your representatives. Again, I thank all of you who have already communicated with your Congressional delegation on these issues. 

This week I was also invited to and attended the Department of Education’s National Summit on Equal Opportunity in Higher Education. While yesterday’s media headlines from the summit centered on Secretary Cardona’s comments calling the Supreme Court’s race-conscious decision “a new low point” for higher education, the summit included important conversations and perspectives on how colleges and universities can provide greater access for all students.

I was pleased to be joined at the summit by several NAICU members, including:

• Pat McGuire, president, Trinity Washington University
• Milton Moreland, president, Centre College
• Christina Paxson, president, Brown University
• Song Richardson, president, Colorado College
• Gabrielle Starr, president, Pomona College

Additionally, there were panelists representing Hampton University, Harvard University, Princeton University, Southern Methodist University, University of Southern California, and Vanderbilt University.

Thank you for participating and lending your voices to these important conversations.

NAICU Update: On Tuesday, August 1, NAICU’s website is expected to be down temporarily for maintenance and upgrades. We expect the work to take several hours and anticipate access to the site to be restored the same day. If you need to contact us, you can email webmaster@NAICU.edu or geninfo@NAICU.edu. Thank you for your patience.

This week’s Washington Update also reports on a Department of Education student success grant program providing $44 million in funding for programs that seek to improve student outcomes for underserved students. Independent colleges that are designated as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, or a Strengthening Institutions Program are eligible to apply.