Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

I hope you were able to enjoy some rest and relaxation last weekend and that you and your campus community enjoyed a happy and safe July 4th holiday. While many of us were preparing for the holiday, the early hours of Independence Day were marked by tragedy in Texas. NAICU is sending thoughts of love and hope to all those affected by the flooding and continued strength to the search and rescue teams that are still on the ground helping those communities.

In federal policy news, President Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill, bringing the reconciliation process to a close. As I’ve written previously, the bill contains deep cuts to the federal student loan program and concerning policies related to program accountability and the endowment tax.

To help you better understand the impact the bill will have on higher education, we have created several resources to guide you through the provisions:

• Our webinar (recording and presentation slides) from earlier this week, which covered what’s in and what’s out of the reconciliation bill, and what’s next.

• An overview and bill summary.

• Our reconciliation advocacy center, which houses additional resources from throughout the reconciliation process.

Based on this week’s webinar, we will also be creating a FAQ document that we will distribute as soon as it’s completed. We are also planning additional webinars that will go into more detail on several of the key provisions in the bill and their implications for private, nonprofit higher education.

While this process reached its culmination, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said right after the president signed the bill that he plans to “have a second reconciliation package in the fall and a third in the spring of next year.”

If that’s the case, I know you will be right there with us again advocating for our students and institutions. 

Soundbites

• Interest Accrual on SAVE Plans Set to Begin. The Department of Education is restarting interest accrual on loans held by borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) income-driven repayment (IDR) plan beginning on August 1. The Department is also encouraging borrowers in the SAVE plan to switch to the income-based repayment plan, which is an older, less generous IDR plan.

• ED Sees Increase in FAFSA Corrections Submitted. The Department of Education confirmed with NAICU that it has seen growth in the number of corrections submitted related to the question about assets on students’ Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms. These errors overstate the amount of assets to use in the need analysis formula, leading to higher Student Aid Index results for students, which reduces the amount of aid they are eligible for. The Department is reviewing ways to clarify the question of reducing these errors in the future.

• Join the JAG Virtual Townhall – July 15, 3:00–4:30 PM ET. The Joint Associations Group on Indirect Costs (JAG) will host a virtual town hall (Register) to present the latest version of the Financial Accountability Research (FAIR) Model. This session offers a chance to ask questions and provide feedback on the model, which reflects community input on two earlier drafts. A summary of the FAIR Model is now available, please review it ahead of the event.

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.