AAU Warns House Bill Expanding Short-Term Pell Would Set Dangerous Precedent
A bill that would have set a dangerous precedent by making some institutions of higher education responsible for students’ federal loans was pulled from the House floor last week after the higher education community, including AAU, urged the chamber to delay action on the bill.
The Bipartisan Workforce Pell Act (H.R. 6585) proposes expanding Pell Grant eligibility to include short-term workforce training programs – a provision that AAU supports. However, in order to pay for this expansion, Section 6 of the bill requires nonprofit colleges and universities subject to the endowment tax to pay the federal government an amount equal to the balance of federal loans not paid back by their students.
In a letter to congressional leaders, AAU President Barbara R. Snyder noted that this requirement would set a “historic and dangerous precedent” that “could easily be expanded in the future to other colleges and universities.” She emphasized that it is inappropriate for the federal government to take “earnings from gifts and charitable support” at one group of institutions and use them to “finance federal financial aid programs at other institutions.” She urged Congress to postpone voting on the bill until it finds an alternative method to pay for the Pell Grant program expansion.
It is unclear at this point whether the House will reschedule the bill for a vote.
Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Urges President Biden to Reconsider Proposal That Would Harm University Public-Private Partnerships
A bipartisan group of 28 members of Congress, led by Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), sent a letter earlier this month asking President Biden to reconsider a policy proposal that would harm American innovation and discourage partnerships between nonprofit research universities and the private sector.
The letter argued against a proposed framework by the National Institute of Standards and Technology because it would allow federal agencies to seize university patents for drugs or other products that they deem too expensive. The lawmakers said this provision would have “dire consequences for U.S. academic research institutions, which help drive our innovation economy.” The framework would upend “public-private partnerships and chill private-sector investment in university intellectual property,” the letter said, continuing: “The result: many valuable technologies would not move beyond the campus lab.”
In a video produced by Save the Inventor, AAU Associate Vice President and Counsel for Government Relations and Public Policy Kate Hudson explained how a weakened intellectual property and patent system would disincentivize the private sector from investing in university research. She told Inside Higher Ed that the bipartisan letter by lawmakers aims to “show that Congress is not aligned on this and to exert some pressure on the administration to second-guess what they’re trying to do.”
AAU has sent multiple comment letters in response to NIST’s proposed framework; the letters point out the problems with the proposal. AAU submitted comments on its own to NIST and joined other associations in sending another letter offering joint comments.
Congress Avoids Partial Government Shutdown
Last week, both the House and the Senate voted to pass a continuing resolution (H.R. 7463) to extend government operations further into March. The resolution gives Congress until March 8 to pass the FY24 Agriculture-FDA, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Interior-Environment, Military Construction-VA, and Transportation-HUD bills and until March 22 to pass the remaining six appropriations bills.
The continuing resolution also fixed an error in the FAFSA Simplification Act concerning the formula used to calculate aid eligibility for students submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The fix changes the calculation used for determining dependent students’ eligibility for Pell Grants. This change will save approximately $3 billion, which will be pumped back into the Pell Grant program starting in FY25.
News of Interest
CBS News: Rebecca Cunningham Selected as President for the University of Minnesota – The University of Minnesota’s Board of Regents announced last week that it has selected Rebecca Cunningham as the university’s next president. Cunningham is currently the vice president for research and innovation at the University of Michigan. She is expected to begin her tenure at the University of Minnesota in July.
Higher Ed Dive: Pell Grant Program Faces a Potential Budget Crisis, Fiscal Policy Group Says – A new report by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget says that “the federal Pell Grant program will see a significant funding shortfall over the next decade unless changes are made.” The reasons for the projected $35-$95 billion 10-year shortfall include increases in the Pell Grant award, expansions in eligibility, and reduced congressional appropriations for the program.
Inside Higher Ed: Transfers on the Rise – New data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show that an increasing number of students (+7.7% in fall 2023 compared to the year before) are transferring from two-year to four-year institutions. The transfer rate grew especially at nonprofit private institutions (+11.8%). In addition, “highly selective institutions … boosted their enrollment of community college transfer students from low- and middle-income neighborhoods, 13.3 percent and 20.4 percent, respectively.”
Jewish Insider: Brandeis President Liebowitz Speaks Up About Campus Challenges in the Post-Oct.7 World – In an interview, Brandeis University President Ronald Liebowitz talked about the challenges of leading a historically Jewish institution, addressing antisemitism in academia, and campus free speech, among other things. Liebowitz spoke about the founding mission of Brandeis as a “liberal arts university that respected Jewish values and its Jewish roots,” and said it was the “exceptional factor” that drew him to the university.
Houston Business Journal: Rice University Launches New Centers, Aims to Address Pressing Global Issues – Rice University is investing in five research centers, including those focused on coastal safety and resilience; improving cancer treatments and diagnoses; and creating solutions for environmental problems. “The new centers build on Rice’s unique research strengths across the disciplines to address some of the world’s most urgent needs,” said Rice Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Amy Dittmar.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education: $68M Investment at Notre Dame Aims at Mental Health Crisis – The University of Notre Dame is investing more than $68 million in a new psychology clinic, “which will develop scalable, evidence-based solutions in childhood trauma, suicide prevention, and substance abuse – and help mitigate the shortage of mental health professionals.” Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins said: “As we face what some have called a mental health epidemic, Notre Dame is proud to undertake this ambitious initiative in comprehensive mental health care, research, and services.”
Featured Research

New Research May Offer Relief to Migraine Sufferers
Nearly one in five women suffer from migraine headaches. New research at the University of Virginia suggests that progesterone, a hormone “used to treat menstrual cycles and polycystic ovarian syndrome” may “have the unexpected ability to promote pain sensitivity” in women. The researchers say that drugs targeting progesterone receptors in the brain may help prevent migraines, “particularly in women during their reproductive years.”

Injectable Drug Significantly Reduces Kids’ Reactions to Food Allergens
A study led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University shows that an FDA-approved drug used to treat asthma “substantially reduced potentially life-threatening reactions in patients with an allergy to peanut and other common food allergies.” Researchers found that omalizumab increased reactivity to food allergens “to levels that would protect most patients from reactions after accidental exposure.”
Stat of the Week
Nearly Half of Spending from University Endowments Goes Toward Student Financial Aid
An annual report on endowments at colleges and universities in the United States found that nearly half of all spending (47.4%) from university endowments in the 12 months preceding June 30, 2023, went toward funding student financial aid programs.
According to the 2023 NACUBO-Commonwealth Study of Endowments, an additional 17.5% of spending from university endowments went to academic programs and research; 11% to endowed faculty positions; and 7.4% to campus facilities’ operation and maintenance. In total, universities spent $28.4 billion out of their endowments in 2022-23.