Introduction by Barbara K. Mistick
Dear Colleagues,
Earlier this week, 24 state attorneys general and two governors filed suit against the Department of Education over the limitation on graduate loans for certain professional degrees. NAICU is monitoring action in court because the rule goes into effect on July 1. If the lawsuit against the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) regulations related to the definition of professional degrees is ultimately successful, then the rules would be invalidated for all graduate programs.
Once again, we’ve had our eyes on this week’s completion of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking and the steps being taken on the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) regulations.
On Thursday afternoon, the AIM committee reached consensus on changes to the Department’s accreditation regulations that will, among other things, make significant changes to how institutions handle transfer of credit requests, add new requirements governing how accreditors apply their accreditation standards, and facilitate the establishment of new accreditors and the ability of institutions to switch accreditors. While some of the changes are less welcome than others, the final package represents a substantial improvement over the Department’s original proposal, and the consensus vote means that the Department must publish proposed regulations that reflect the language agreed upon by the negotiators.
The Department has stated that it intends to publish final accreditation regulations by November 1, 2026, in order to implement the new rules on July 1, 2027. As a reminder, on June 2nd at 2:00 p.m. EDT, we will be hosting a webinar (register) devoted to the AIM committee’s consensus. NAICU will also share a more detailed analysis of the regulations next week.
On AHEAD, our government relations team drafted and submitted to the Department of Education on Wednesday a comprehensive set of comments highlighting the concerns we have with the proposed rules and the significant impact they would have on private, nonprofit higher education. While we share the Department’s interest in an accountability framework that protects students and taxpayers, its approach would cause considerable harm to students and institutions. As we wrote in our comments, the proposed rule departs “from the statute, exceeds the Department’s regulatory authority, or relies on methodological choices that will produce inaccurate determinations and unintended consequences for programs that demonstrably and successfully serve students.”
Thank you to the nearly 40 state associations and Secretariat members that signed on to our comments.
As we head into the Memorial Day weekend, I hope you can find time to take a moment to honor and remember the men and women who gave their lives in service to our country.
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, D.B.A.