Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to you this week from Dallas where NAICU is holding its Spring Board and Committee meetings. It is so rewarding and energizing to be with our members and to hear and participate in so many fulsome conversations about the issues impacting private, nonprofit higher education. These meetings with our leadership committees and Board of Directors help set the direction for our policy and advocacy efforts.

I would like to thank Southern Methodist University President R. Gerald Turner, Ph.D., and Mrs. Gail Turner for hosting a wonderful reception and dinner at the stunning Meadows Museum on the SMU campus. It was a terrific start to our two days of committee and board work.

Also, kicking off our agenda yesterday was an important conversation on reframing the relationship between higher education and the federal government. I was pleased to welcome as panelists, Linda A. Livingstone, president of Baylor University, President Turner of SMU, and José D. Padilla, president of Valparaiso University. The conversation was moderated by Elon University President Connie Book, who also serves as NAICU’s board chair.

Our committees touched on a broad range of issues this week, including FAFSA, the regulatory landscape, perceptions of higher education, and key legislative proposals, among others.

In more difficult news from Washington for most colleges and universities, the Office of Inspection of Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) completed its review of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final rule on overtime pay, which will change overtime pay regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). While the details of the final rule are unknown, it’s expected to increase the overtime pay threshold from $35,568 to close to $60,000 and include automatic 3-year adjustments. 

Under the FLSA, workers are entitled to overtime pay (i.e., time and a half pay for any hours worked over 40 in a given workweek) unless they meet certain exemptions. The final rule alters the regulations for the Executive, Administrative, or Professional (EAP) exemption, known as the “white collar” exemption. To qualify, a worker must 1) be paid a salary, 2) be paid a salary less than the minimum salary threshold (currently set at $35,568 per year), and 3) meet the “duties test.”

It will likely have an effective date of 60 days after publication. This review is the final step before the publication of a regulation in the Federal Register.

Soundbite

• The Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a preliminary injunction halting implementation of the Biden Administration’s borrower defense to repayment Central to the court’s ruling was its finding that the plaintiffs, the Career Colleges and Schools of Texas, had demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of their claims that the Department’s rule both exceeded its statutory authority and was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. The injunction will remain in place until the decision is either reversed on appeal or there is a ruling on the merits.

Thank you to our members who joined us in Dallas for our leadership meetings to the full membership for its continued support and advocacy on behalf of private, nonprofit higher education and the students you serve.

Regards,

Barbara

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