Dear Colleagues,

Problems with the rollout of the new FAFSA continue to plague the Department of Education and are negatively impacting students and families and putting institutions at a critical crossroads of losing an entire class of low-income students (see story below for more details). 

During the past week, the Department announced yet another problem it is having related to dependent student assets. This new issue has resulted in a large number of incorrect dependent student ISIRs being sent to institutions. Making matters worse, the Department has no firm timeline for when corrections to these ISIRs can be made.

At the same time, the Secretary sent a letter to all governors recommending steps they should take to ensure state grant aid can still be delivered to students. Several of the recommended steps could be unrealistic as they would likely require legislative action, such as extending application deadlines and increasing funding for state aid.

While deadline after deadline set by the Department to remedy its FAFSA mistakes has been missed, we are now at a critical point for student enrollment decisions. 

Couple the FAFSA calamities with the looming July 1 deadline related to the financial value transparency and gainful employment regulations and related accountability packages and institutions are facing a perfect storm. Unfortunately, the Department has been silent on our request for a one-year delay in the implementation of these regulations. Accountability goes two ways, and it is ironic that the Department is unwilling to extend self-imposed deadlines on our institutions while expecting colleges and universities to have patience with its continued delays on the much more important federal priority of delivering aid to low-income students.

Yesterday I sent a letter asking Congress to do two things:

• Guarantee student aid funding at last year’s level for any continuing student.
• Delay the July 1, 2024, implementation date for the Financial Value Transparency/Gainful Employment and related regulatory packages (issued on October 10 and October 31, 2023) by one year.

When Congress returns next week, I will be sending an Action Alert and calling on you to support me in this effort by contacting your elected officials to ask them to mandate these actions. Time is running out for our students to receive the information they need to make informed decisions about their educational futures and for our institutions to ensure their viability through this crisis. 

I know I can rely on the NAICU membership to engage in this effort. Time and again we have been successful when we have fought for our students. This is an historic moment, and we need to do what is right for them. 

Soundbites

• The FY 2024 federal spending bill was finally completed when the president signed the legislation last weekend. As reported in last week’s Washington Update, the bill level funded all federal student aid programs, a significate win in this difficult spending environment. Here is NAICU’s statement on the passage of the bill in Congress that was issued last Saturday.

• NAICU met with Biden Administration officials from the Office of Management of the Budget (OMB) and Department of Labor (DOL) to voice its significant concerns about the proposed Overtime Rule. The DOL sent the final rule to OMB on March 1, for final inspection, starting the last stage of the rulemaking process, which is providing an opportunity for the public to make final comments on proposals. While the Administration is not allowed to provide feedback, and the details of the Final Rule are not known, the final rule is expected to be published in April with a 60-day effective date. NAICU President Barbara Mistick was joined in the meeting with NAICU Director of Tax Policy Karin Johns and Kansas Independent Colleges Association President, Matt Lindsey.

• Earlier this week, the Student Aid Alliance hosted Student Aid 101, a congressional staff briefing focused on the student aid programs in the Higher Education Act. The standing room only briefing gave congressional staff an overview of the key programs, what they do, and how they benefit students.

There is much going on in Washington affecting your students and institutions right now. We are monitoring and working very closely with policy makers to ensure that the voices of private, nonprofit higher education are being heard as these issues are being discussed and debated.

If you celebrate Easter, I wish you a happy holiday this Sunday.

Regards

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick D.B.A.
President, NAICU