Soundbites

NAICU’s FY 2027 Appropriations Priorities. Earlier this week, NAICU sent its FY 2027 appropriations request to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees and the Congressional Independent Colleges Caucus. The request focuses on funding the Pell Grant shortfall without cuts to the maximum grant or reducing eligibility while maintaining funding for the other student aid programs. The letter also highlights the need to continue to block the proposed 15% cap on indirect costs for research conducted at private, nonprofit institutions while working toward the enactment of the new Fiscal Accountability in Research (FAIR) model for better transparency.

More on Indirect Costs. NAICU, which is a member of the Joint Association Group (JAG) on Indirect Costs signed on to a JAG letter requesting that Congress implement the FAIR model government-wide.

NACIQI Votes to Remove Accreditor. The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) met this week to review the compliance reports for four accreditors and evaluate the applications to renew the recognition of six others. Much of the debate throughout the two days centered around the agencies’ DEI practices. The committee voted to recommend that the Department of Education continue to recognize five of the accreditors while also voting that the agency should remove the recognition of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education.

ED Updates Earnings Data. The Department of Education updated the earnings data used in the College Scorecard and the new low-earnings indicator on Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submissions. The new data, which reflect the median earnings of Title IV graduates from 2017-18 and 2018-19, are used at the institution level for the FAFSA low-earnings indicator, and at the program level on the College Scorecard.

NAICU Comments on GSA Federal Grant Proposal. In response to the General Services Administration’s proposal to amend the federal grant certification agreements, NAICU joined the higher education community in submitting comments emphasizing that institutions of higher education already comply with federal civil rights law and the amendments for further certifications are unnecessary. The proposal would require federal grantees to certify that, among other things, they are not engaging in unlawful discrimination.

ED Announces Eligibility Process for Title III Grants. The Department of Education updated the process for determining Title III Strengthening Institutions Grants institutional eligibility. Institutions must have lower than average “educational and general expenditures” and at least 50% low-income student enrollment to be eligible for Title III grants. Go to https://HEPIS.ed.gov/ to check the status of your institution’s eligibility on the FY 2026 matrix.