Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues:

As the Memorial Day holiday weekend kicks off today, it is hard to believe the unofficial start of summer is upon us. By now, most of you have completed your traditional commencement ceremonies and have moved on to preparing for orientation events for incoming students and other summer activities. I know this has been a difficult five months for many of you, but I hope the joy of seeing students complete their academic programs has reminded you of why all your hard work matters and inspires you for our continued advocacy efforts.

While it appears the Department of Education may have finally turned the corner in the mismanaged relaunch of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), please be assured we continue to work on your behalf to address the damage that has been done. This week, NAICU joined a community letter to the House and Senate Education Committees on a long list of proposed improvements to the FAFSA process. The letter reflects on some of the needed actions because of this year’s FAFSA rollout problems, while asking Congress to prepare to analyze the effects of the underlying changes to the need analyses formula reflected in the new FAFSA.

Yesterday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce convened its third antisemitism hearing featuring testimony from college presidents. During the hearing, the chancellor of the University of California, Los Angeles and the presidents of Rutgers University and Northwestern University faced scrutiny about their responses to anti-war encampments on campus. Republican committee members were particularly critical of the presidents of Rutgers and Northwestern for negotiating with protesters to end the encampments.

Earlier in the week, the Education Department released two FAQs on the new financial responsibility and certification procedures regulations set to go into effect on July 1. The new guidance includes additional information about compliance with gainful employment program hours, licensure and disclosure requirements, and transcript withholding provisions that were included in the large set of accountability rules published last October. (See our story below for more details).

The House Committee on Appropriations released subcommittee allocations for the FY 2025 federal budget that favor defense spending over non-defense spending and cut the Labor-HHS-Education subcommittee allocation by $10 billion. You may remember that last year, the deep cut to the subcommittee allocation resulted in the proposed elimination of funding for Federal Work-Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants. It is possible that student aid programs could be on the chopping block again this year when the subcommittee marks up their appropriations bill on June 27. (See our story below for more details).

Soundbites

• NAICU joined over 100 organizations in the Double Pell Alliance to reiterate its support for doubling the Pell Grant maximum to $13,000 in a letter sent this week to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. NAICU is a founding member of the Double Pell Alliance and continues to serve in a leadership capacity.

• This week, the Education Department announced a 30-day comment period to allow the public to provide input on the new Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations. This comment period requests input on the method in which the Department will collect the required information from institutions. Comments are due by June 17, 2024. 

• Another public comment period for proposed priorities, requirements, and definitions for use in the Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) grant program was also announced by the Education Department. RDI grants are used to invest in institutional research infrastructure, productivity, faculty, programming, and more. Interested parties may submit comments by June 17, 2024.

I wish you well this weekend as many gather together with family and friends to honor the brave members of our armed services who gave their lives in service to our nation.

For more information, please contact:
Barbara K. Mistick