Dear Colleagues:

The most highly visible news to come out of Washington in the last week was the election of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as House Speaker. With the speakership settled, the House finally got to work on determining its rules and electing committee chairs. Our story below highlights the impact the agreed upon rules and the committee chair elections will have on higher education for the next two years.

Less publicized, but potentially more impactful to our institutions, was the Biden Administration’s announcement of a major new two-part effort to reduce loan costs for student borrowers and to hold colleges accountable to ensure these reduced loan costs do not lead to excessive new borrowing among students. This accountability effort will also seek to ensure borrowers are getting “value” from their college investment. The two-part plan was anticipated in the president’s announcement last August regarding his proposal to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student loans for current borrowers.

The good news is that the proposal does not attempt to limit a student’s ability to borrow for degree programs. But students would receive warnings they must sign if they wish to borrow for academic programs the federal government determines lead to too much debt relative to the earnings of past graduates from the program. While this proposal is much better than past plans from Congress that would limit the majors certain student loan borrowers could choose, it moves one step closer to equating the value of a higher education to how much money one earns later in life.

NAICU has been actively engaged in advocating for the value of higher education in the broadest sense and will continue to make that case while acknowledging that no student should have more debt than is manageable. And while institutions have a role in debt management, so does the federal government, whose loan programs have not always included financially generous terms and conditions for parents and students.

We will be working to respond to these proposals and will keep you informed  throughout.  You can see more details in our first story below.

Soundbites

• The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has notified School Certifying Officials (SCO)  that February 24, 2023 will be the last day to submit enrollments to VA-ONCE and that new Enrollment Manager platform will go live on March 6, 2023. To help implement the switch in certification platforms for veteran students, the VA is conducting training during the Office Hours sessions being held January 18 and 19. SCOs should have received information directly from the VA about the training. If your SCO is not receiving this information, they should subscribe to the distribution list via the Enrollment Manager FAQ.
   
• The President’s budget request for FY 2024 is expected to be released on February 6, the first Monday in February, kicking off the traditional start to the annual budget and appropriations process. President Biden’s first two budgets missed this ceremonial target date due to changing administrations in 2021, and pandemic delays last year.

In addition to the stories mentioned above, today’s Washington Update reports on the heightened interest from Congress and the administration on China, and new guidance related to the Federal Work-Study program and community service.

Regards,

Barbara

Barbara K. Mistick, D.M.
President, NAICU