Dear Colleague,

I hope you and your campus community celebrated a happy and safe Labor Day weekend. While the holiday marks the unofficial end of summer, it’s 100 degrees in Washington, DC and elsewhere. The Senate was back in session this week, but the House won’t return until next week. That said, there was still plenty of activity in the nation’s capital to mark the weekly return of Washington Update.

The Biden Administration is finally officially releasing its proposed rule on overtime pay for nonprofit and corporate employers today. The key component of the proposal is the increase in the threshold for employees to be considered exempt from overtime pay to $55,068. This represents a 55% increase from the current threshold of $35,568 (see our story below for more details).

Last week, I sent an Action Alert, urging you to submit comments to the Department of Labor detailing the impact the proposal could have on your campus. The Alert included a series of questions to help you think through the implications of the proposal and how they might affect your campus. Comments are due by November 7. I hope you will take the time to assess how this will impact your campus and provide comments to the Department.

If you do decide to comment, please also email a copy to NAICU’s Director of Tax Policy, Karin Johns at karin@naicu.edu. We would also welcome any preliminary analysis you develop as you prepare your response. Being familiar with the impact this proposal will have on your campus will be important context for our national advocacy.

In other news, if your institution has been flagged for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) risk-based survey, NAICU would like to know more about this experience (see story below for more detail). The House Committee on Veterans Affairs is planning an oversight hearing later this month and we want to make sure we are representing your concerns in our advocacy efforts.

If you were flagged by the VA and are willing to share feedback about the survey and process, please email NAICU’s Stephanie Giesecke (Stephanie@naicu.edu). Also, our colleagues at the National Association of Veterans’ Program Administrators (NAVPA), which has been invited to testify before the committee, are also seeking feedback from institutions via a brief survey that they have opened to those who have been selected or have completed a risk-based survey. The NAVPA survey closes September 13.

• The Biden Administration has launched an awareness campaign called “SAVE on Student Debt” for its new student loan repayment plan, with a week of action beginning September 11. The SAVE plan is designed to be less costly to students than past income-based repayment plans, with generous repayment terms and protections for borrowers. Since launching on July 30, more than four million borrowers have enrolled. Additionally, Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy (LA), John Thune (SD), and John Cornyn (TX) and House Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI) introduced matching Congressional Review Acts (CRAs) on Tuesday to overturn the SAVE IDR plan. CRAs give Congress a fast-track tool to repeal recent executive branch rules. However, the measure is unlikely to pass both chambers and be signed by the president. 

• The launch of the College Cost Transparency Initiative has been delayed until September 25. If your organization would like to join the more than 130 institutions that have already signed on, you may do so until Monday, September 18. NAICU is a member of the initiative’s Task Force and encourages its members to consider joining this effort. Questions can be directed to info@collegeprice.org or, if you have specific comments for NAICU, to Justin Monk, NAICU’s director of student and institutional aid at Justin@naicu.edu.

• Last week, the White House sent a 28-page list of additional funding it would like to see added to the upcoming continuing resolution (CR) that will continue funding the government past the September 30 deadline. Included in this list is $2.3 billion for the Department of Education’s Student Aid Administration office, the robust funding of which the White House views as critical to ensure that student aid continues uninterrupted while Congress works through its funding discussions.

• In 2005, Congress passed legislation mandating the commemoration of the signing of the Constitution on September 17, 1787. Colleges and universities receiving federal funds are required to conduct an educational program related to the Constitution each year on September 17. Since the federal provision does not define “educational program,” campuses have a great deal of latitude as to how to observe the event. The regulations do not indicate any penalties for failure to comply with the mandate, nor do they indicate that specific activities need to be reported. Resources for planning Constitution Day activities can be found on the Library of Congress and Constitution Center 

Finally, I’d like to give a shout out to Fordham University President, an incoming member of NAICU’s Board of Directors, Tania Tetlow, who sang the National Anthem at Yankee Stadium earlier this week! Congratulations on a beautiful rendition. 

Regards,

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick
President, NAICU