Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Change continues to come at a fast pace in Washington, and this week potential reforms at the Department of Education came into greater focus. With Secretary Linda McMahon formally confirmed and sworn in, a draft Executive Order (EO) to target the Department for closure was leaked. According to the draft, the EO provides that “The Secretary of Education shall, to the maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law, take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities.”

At a policy level, the draft order focuses on elementary and secondary education and diversity, equity, and inclusion, while also clearly acknowledging the need to follow current legal authority. This last feature is very important because the ability to create or abolish cabinet agencies is left to Congress, which would face an uphill battle to pass legislation eliminating the Department. It remains to be seen how much energy the Administration will devote to this effort or if the EO, if issued, will be seen as a sufficient step in fulfilling President Trump’s campaign promise to get rid of the Department.

Regardless of what happens to the Department, statutorily authorized programs, including the federal student aid programs, cannot be eliminated via executive order and thus should continue to operate despite this order. The federal student aid programs, for example, pre-date the creation of the Department of Education.

Meanwhile, we continue to focus on the pending March 14 deadline for Congress to fund the government or face a shutdown. There are many possibilities on the table on how Congress might get through this next challenge. (See our story below for more details.)

Also on our minds is the reconciliation process, where so much is at stake for our students, institutions, and the federal student aid programs, particularly student loans. We encourage you to continue to stay engaged in this process as we all must sustain our focus on this somewhat arcane but critical process.

New VP of Government Relations & Policy Development. This week we announced that Tim Powers is returning to NAICU as Vice President for Government Relations and Policy Development. Tim, who will start on April 7, follows Sarah Flanagan, who is retiring after 30 years. Tim comes to NAICU from the Consortium on Financing Higher Education (COFHE), where he served as director of public issues since 2021. Tim is an experienced higher education leader with a track record of success in government relations, policy, development, and advocacy and has worked extensively in the private, nonprofit sector. Tim is intimately familiar with NAICU having worked with us for five years first as Director of Accountability and Regulatory Affairs and then later as Director of Student Aid Policy. Through his work at COFHE and NAICU, Tim has nearly a decade of service focused solely on the independent sector of higher education.

Soundbites

• Executive Order Trackers. NAICU continues to update its Executive Order tool as additional ones are issued. In the meantime, we are pleased to announce that the National Association of College and University Attorneys, who regularly partners with NAICU, has graciously made available its tracker on executive branch activities and related court cases to all NAICU members.

• Court Issues Injunction on Plans to Limit Reimbursements. A federal district court in Massachusetts issued a nationwide preliminary injunction this week against the Trump Administration’s plans to limit reimbursements on indirect costs by the National Institutes of Health to 15%. The proposal has the potential to devastate university research funding.

• Executive Order on Implementing DOGE. President Trump issued an executive order requiring all federal agencies to review contracts, grants, and loans for waste, fraud, and abuse, and to prioritize reviewing funds disbursed to educational institutions and foreign entities.

• 2024-25 and 2025-26 Batch Corrections Available. The Department of Education announced the availability of batch corrections for both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid cycles. The electronic announcement also included guidance for implementing batch corrections and ways to avoid common submission errors.

• Senate Transgender Bill Fails. A bill that would prohibit transgender students from participating in an “athletic program or activity that is designated for women or girls” failed to pass a procedural vote in the Senate. As a result, the Protection of Women and Girls Act (S. 9) appears unlikely to become law, despite previous passage of a similar bill in the House of Representatives.

NAICU in the News

• President Barbara Mistick was quoted in a Pittsburgh Tribune-Review story reporting on the potential impact on colleges and universities of the Trump Administration’s plans to eliminate DEI programs.

• Mary Dana Hinton, president of Hollins University and chair of NAICU’s board of directors, penned an essay in Inside Higher Education on the importance of presidential-level advocacy on issues critical to students and institutions.

• Sarah Flanagan, vice president for government relations and policy development, was quoted in a Boston Globe story (subscription required) on the future of the Pell Grant.

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.