Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues,

Happy New Year! I hope you’ve had a safe and healthy holiday season. While Washington Update may have been on hiatus (though we did find time to update its look!), we were still tracking important activities in Congress and the administration throughout the break.

Among several immediate priorities is the work in Congress on the FY 2026 appropriations. As I wrote in my Wednesday Action Alert, during the course of the next three weeks the House and Senate will be working to reconcile the differences in their funding proposals and have until the end of the month to do so or risk shutting down the government again. 

I hope you will contact your Representative and Senators to advocate for the Senate’s version of the Labor-HHS-Education funding bill because it protects critical federal student aid funds and the research enterprise. (See story for more details.)

In other news, the Department of Education continued the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) committee’s negotiated rulemaking this week. The initial proposal from the Department made several changes to the existing Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment frameworks to facilitate the implementation of the reconciliation bill’s accountability system, most of which were an effort to harmonize the frameworks.

Discussions with negotiators have thus far not resulted in significant changes from that proposal, though several important decisions remain on the table for inclusion. If the negotiators reach consensus on the final package today, NAICU will have an analysis of the provisions in the coming days.

We are also just weeks away from NAICU’s Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day. This will be a critical time to convene to address the future of private, nonprofit higher education, discuss the policies and regulations that will affect our sector, and meet with our elected officials to ensure that the priorities of our institutions and students are heard. If you haven’t already, I hope you will register and join us in Washington, February 1-4.

Finally, I’d like to thank CIC President Marjorie Hass and her entire staff for hosting another terrific and informative Presidents Institute and inviting me to participate in the program. It was terrific to be with so many NAICU members in Orlando. It’s an important reminder of the value of our network and the importance of engaging in our core advocacy work with Congress and the Trump Administration. 

For more information, please contact:
Barbara K. Mistick, D.B.A.