Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick

Dear Colleagues, 

In a temporary win for students and institutions, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia suspended the Department of Education’s new regulatory definition of “professional degree” just days before it was set to take effect on July 1.

The ruling prevents the Department from implementing its new professional degree definition that was established by the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) negotiated rulemaking and set to take effect on July 1. The court’s decision is a significant victory for the students and institutions that otherwise would have faced strict new borrowing limits in a matter of days. (See story for more details.)

Work in Congress has ground to a halt because of President Trump’s insistence on enacting the SAVE Act, controversial voting legislation. The House was poised this week to start floor consideration of spending bills but pulled them back due to the standoff between President Trump and Congress.

The Senate adjourned early for its Fourth of July recess because it could not agree on how to move forward with its floor and committee agendas with the dispute over the voting bill and its difficulty in maintaining a quorum.  While these specific actions do not relate directly to higher education, they set the tone for how Congress and the administration will struggle to work together over the coming months leading up to the midterm elections.

Finally, NAICU co-hosted a Congressional Independent Colleges Caucus event (CICC) on Capitol Hill yesterday to brief staff members on how private, nonprofit colleges and universities deliver graduate education and the vital role they play in meeting the demand for advanced degrees in the American economy.  (See story for details.)

My sincere thanks to Tracy Fitzsimmons, president of Shenandoah University, and Bryon L. Grigsby, president of Moravian University, for travelling to the nation’s capital and providing their perspectives and experiences on how the decisions made in Washington impact students and campuses.  I’d also like to thank the CICC co-chairs, Representatives Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Ben Cline (R-VA), for recognizing in their remarks both the importance of federal student aid and the role our colleges and universities play in meeting workforce needs. 

I hope you have a pleasant weekend.

Regards,

Barbara

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

For more information, please contact:
Barbara K. Mistick