Dear Colleagues,

Yesterday I sent a letter to Secretary Cardona requesting a one-year delay in the Department of Education’s proposed Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency and related regulatory provisions that are due to go into effect on July 1, 2024. While I do not know how the Department will respond to this request, I am heartened that 56 independent college associations that also belong to NAICU joined me in signing the letter.  

The letter cited the continued effect of the FAFSA delays on our institutions’ capacities to undertake new and extensive regulatory constructs like the one proposed by these regulations. Specifically, we wrote that a one-year delay would go a long way “toward ensuring institutions, particularly financial aid offices, can focus their limited resources on providing students the financial aid packages they need to make informed choices regarding higher education enrollment.” 

The letter is a follow-up to the same request we made of Secretary Cardona at our annual meeting last month and that many members discussed with their elected officials during our Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.  

This week we also saw more progress on the FAFSA rollout by the Department, but the rollout continues at a disappointingly slow pace (see story below for more details). The crisis being caused by the delay is garnering more and more political and public attention, including a front-page story (subscription required) in The New York Times, which follows an earlier story in The Washington Post on some of the many causes of the delay. I want you to know we continue to do all we can to help improve the process, but like so many of your campuses, we are at the mercy of the Department to get the system up and running. 

I want to thank those who have shared their congressional communications with us in response to last week’s Action Alert in support of FY 2024 student aid appropriations. With one week to go before the current continuing resolution expires on March 22, there is still time to let Congress know that funding needs to be finalized with increases to Pell Grants, and no cuts to Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants or Federal Work-Study. If Congress meets the March 22 deadline, once institutions receive FAFSA information they can produce their student aid packages with certainty.  

Looking ahead to FY 2025, I was pleased to see President Biden’s continued support for increasing the Pell Grant and supporting HBCU’s and MSI’s in both his State of the Union Address and his budget proposal (see story below for more details on the budget). During the State of the Union he said, “Let’s continue increasing the Pell Grants to working- and middle-class families and increase record investments in HBCUs and minority-serving institutions, including Hispanic institutions.” 

Soundbites

• NAICU joined the Partnership to Protect Workplace Opportunity (PPWO) and 83 other organizations in sending a letter to all House members in support of legislation recently introduced by Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) that would prohibit the Department of Labor (DOL) from finalizing, implementing, or enforcing its proposed rule on overtime pay. The Overtime Pay Flexibility Act (H.R. 7367) would stop the current DOL proposal but preserve the agency’s authority to make future adjustments to the overtime rules as appropriate. The bill is unlikely to move beyond House consideration. 

• The Department of Education earlier announced a public comment period for the reporting requirements under the new Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations. NAICU has clarified with the Department that interested parties may submit comments until April 22, despite the notice having erroneously listed a deadline of March 22. 

• In the wake of a decision by the National Labor Relations Board determining that men’s basketball players at Dartmouth College are employees eligible to form a union, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing to examine the consequences of classifying college athletes as employees. NAICU joined the higher education community in submitting a statement describing the potentially devastating impact such a move would likely have on college athletics.  

• In a hearing last week, the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development examined diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts on college campuses. DEI programs have faced renewed attacks in recent months as Republicans have argued that such programs have contributed to antisemitism on campus. 

• The White House has a new push underway to inform students about the new Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) repayment plan launched by the Administration last summer. This renewed effort encourages associations and institutions to sign up by March 19 to take action to promote the program on campus.  

In addition to the stories above, today’s Washington Update also reports on the outcomes of the negotiated rulemaking on Program Integrity and Institutional Quality that wrapped up last week. 

Regards,

Barbara

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