Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues:

Washington remains quiet as all eyes are focused on the coming elections.  There is increased tension in the air this year, as security and safety seem to be top of mind for many election officials.  I am also hearing from our membership that security and safety issues around Election Day and post-election activities are also concerns on campuses around the country.  

I am hoping that the expected closeness of the presidential election and many state elections result in teaching moments about positive engagement in our democratic process and do not end up as divisive protests.  As a reminder, NAICU hosted a webinar in the spring that included resources and strategies for preparing your campus for the 2024 elections.

While November 5 will bring some closure to certain aspects of our political discourse, it also will be followed by the lame-duck Congress, which is currently scheduled for November 12 to December 20. I have heard from many of our members who are having conversations with their elected officials about our top priorities for the lame-duck session and what we are asking Members of Congress to support.  Our list includes:

• Support the Senate’s proposal to provide a $100 increase to the Pell Grant program, and level fund Supplemental Opportunity Grants (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study. The Pell Grant is the foundation of federal student aid and helps millions of students attend college. Please support continued increases in the Pell Grant maximum award. The House has proposed cutting funding in half for both SEOG and FWS, which would decimate these two programs that are vital to students and families. 

• Oppose any last-minute efforts to impose student loan risk-sharing rules on institutions via the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA) or proposals to pay for Pell Grant expansions for short-term programs. For example, the student loan risk-sharing proposals in the CCRA and the House proposed pay-fors for Workforce Pell make institutions liable for federal student loan costs (such as loan forgiveness and interest rate charges) established by the federal government would target the private college sector. There are positive components in the CCRA and other proposals from both parties, but the process should be more deliberative and should not decimate one sector to the benefit of others.
  
  Note: The House Committee on Education & the Workforce made public its analysis of the risk-sharing provisions, which includes a database where you can search your institution to see the impact of the proposal. Please note that the committee analysis only reflects the potential cost five years into implementation, but student loan repayments last 10-15 years, so the payment amounts in this analysis would double by year 10 as more cohorts of graduates enter repayment.
   
• Extend the reporting deadline for Financial Value Transparency requirements to July 2025.  While we appreciate the two delays already provided by the Department of Education, the agency still has not addressed the flawed lists sent to schools last summer, nor has it provided the corrections to the reporting forms promised when granting the last delay. With a new FAFSA about to launch on December 1, and corrections still being made to the current year’s form, our financial aid offices have to focus on getting the new FAFSA system up and running.  It is already too late to find the resources to make the January 15 deadline.

Please use and tailor these priorities as you see fit to align with your campus priorities.  We have created a sample letter that you can also tailor to include details specific to your campus, which always helps in this type of correspondence. 

Soundbites

• FAFSA Corrections Available: The Department of Education announced that corrections for academic year 2024-25 paper Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) forms are now functioning, and it has begun processing the corrections it has received. The Department anticipates that this process will be completed by the end of October. Additionally, the Department says paper FAFSA processing times are back to the standard 7–10 day turnaround time.
   
• Sponsored Research and Tech Transfer Workshop:  NAICU is pleased to be a cooperating association for the National Association of College and University Attorneys’ 2024 workshop on sponsored research and technology transfer.  The workshop content will be most useful to college and university counsel and campus administrators with significant responsibilities for research, technology transfer, and innovation activities. See NACUA’s conference webpage for more details on the workshop, which takes place November 13-15 in Washington, DC. 

This week’s Washington Update reports on the Department of Education’s decision to officially rescind its third-party servicer guidance. 

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Regards,

Barbara

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