Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues,

This week, the NAICU leadership – our board of directors and leadership committees, the National Association of Independent College and University State Executives, our Secretariat, and Legal Services Review Panel – all met in Washington for our annual Fall Leadership Conference. During these meetings, we are updated on the key federal higher education policy and regulatory issues and work to set a course for addressing the most pressing concerns and identifying advocacy strategies for ensuring our voices are included in these key policy debates.

While the sheer number of challenges we are facing as a sector may seem daunting, I am energized by the commitment of our membership and our collective focus and determination to tackle the issues before us in a way that serves our students and our missions. 

Financial value transparency, not surprisingly, was the focus of much of our committee work. You will be hearing much more from us on this topic in the weeks and months ahead, including details on upcoming webinars we hope to hold to help dissect all the components of the recently released rules. If your institution is not already preparing for these new regulatory requirements, make sure you develop an implementation plan soon (see our summary of the final rules for additional detail).

Another hot topic was the proposed overtime rule. As a reminder, the comment period for submissions on the Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) proposed overtime rule ends on November 7, 2023. With less than three weeks before the comment period ends, there are approximately 8,000 comments submitted as of today. For comparison, there were nearly 300,000 comments received by the final deadline when the last significant increase was proposed during the Obama Administration.

The number of comments can significantly affect how DOL considers the potential impact of a regulation before issuing a final rule. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to submit comments directly from your institution if you are concerned about the potential negative impact of this proposal. Here is the Action Alert we developed with more details on the rule to help inform your comments. If possible, please also share a copy of your comments with Karin Johns (karin@naicu.edu) to help NAICU best assess the impact that will be felt on campus.

Finally, a quick update on the College Cost Transparency Initiative (CCT), which launched last month. I am pleased to report that to date there are over 450 institutions, representing nearly 4.8 million students in 44 states, that have signed onto or have agreed to sign on to the initiative’s principles and standards to improve the clarity, accuracy, and consistency of student financial aid offers. Of those institutions, around 20% are private, nonprofit colleges and universities. It’s not too late to add your institution to the initiative and show policy makers and others our continued commitment to transparency.

• The Biden Administration awarded $13 million in funding to 34 on-campus childcare programs to provide low-income student parents access to high quality on-campus childcare so they can pursue their higher education goals. While these Child Care Access Means Parents in School Awards are available to all types of institutions, to date most grant funding has gone to community colleges and just one new grant was awarded to a private, nonprofit, the University of St. Francis in Indiana.
• The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week examining the current landscape of Name, Image and Likeness arrangements and policy recommendations that Congress may consider, including in federal legislation. The hearing was chaired by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and featured witnesses representing two NAICU-member institutions, a current student-athlete, and NCAA President Charlie Baker, among others. Jack Swarbrick and Jill Bodensteiner, athletic directors at the University of Notre Dame and St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia) respectively, joined Baker and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Tony Pettiti in advocating against any proposal to treat student-athletes as employees.

Today’s Washington Update reports on the $75 million in grants awarded by the Department of Education to benefit underserved students at colleges and universities.

Regards,

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick, D.M.
President, NAICU