- Administration Reviews Proposed SEVIS Fee Increase
- NIST Releases Final ‘Unleashing American Innovation’ Green Paper
- Ed Dept Releases Draft Language from Negotiated Rulemaking
- AAU Researchers Awarded 2019 Carnegie Fellowships
- Defense Dept Launches New Chief Technologist Website
- Upcoming Events
ADMINISTRATION REVIEWS PROPOSED SEVIS FEE INCREASE
The administration Tuesday completed a review of the Department of Homeland Security’s June 2018 proposed rule to increase by 75 percent the fees foreign students pay for visas and impose new fees on schools accepting international students , PoliticoPro reports. Under the proposed rule, the program fee for international students on F and M visas would increase from $200 to $350 and exchange visitors would face an increase from $180 to $220. The "school certification petition fee" would increase from $1,700 to $3,000 and schools would have to pay new additional fees when seeking recertification, appealing government decisions, and changing or adding new locations. DHS has not yet released a timeline to issue the final regulation.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations Submit Comment to The Department of Homeland Security on Visa Fees
NIST RELEASES FINAL ‘UNLEASHING AMERICAN INNOVATION’ GREEN PAPER
The National Institute of Standards and Technology today released a Final Green Paper from the agency’s Return on Investment Initiative for Unleashing American Innovation. The document is meant to inform, but not prescribe, policy recommendations for NIST. The Green Paper outlines several topics of interest to the university research community, including sections on: identifying regulatory impediments and administrative improvements in federal technology transfer policies and practices; increasing engagement with private sector technology development experts and investors; building a more entrepreneurial workforce; supporting innovative tools and services for technology transfer; and improving understanding of global science and technology trends and benchmarks. NIST has not released a timetable to implement its findings.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE: AAU, along with APLU, ACE, AUTM, AAMC, and COGR, submitted comments in July 2018 and January 2019, and AAU provided comments in person June 18.
ED DEPT RELEASES DRAFT LANGUAGE FROM NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING
The Education Department last week released draft consensus language from its accreditation and innovation negotiated rulemaking committee. The proposed federal rule changes would impact college accreditation, state authorization requirements, religious institutions, competency-based education, TEACH grants, and more. The department must now publish their approved regulatory language in the Federal Register and solicit public comments but has not yet released a timeline for this. To meet its July 1, 2020 deadline, the final rule must be published in the Federal Register by November 1, 2019.
AAU RESEARCHERS AWARDED 2019 CARNEGIE FELLOWSHIPS
The Carnegie Corporation of New York yesterday announced their 2019 Andrew Carnegie Fellows, who are selected for an award of up to $200,000 for research in the humanities and social sciences. Selected from 273 nominations, 26 of the 32 scholars honored are at AAU institutions.
DEFENSE DEPT LAUNCHES NEW CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST WEBSITE
The Defense Department Wednesday launched a new website for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering emphasizing the role of the office in technology superiority for the department. The department says the website will “help members from the different services, industry, academia, allied partners and the American public to stay informed on happenings in the DoD research, development, engineering and technology enterprise.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 30 CNSF EXHIBITION AND RECEPTION; 5:30 p.m. ET, 2043-2045 Rayburn House Office Building. Register by April 29 here. For more information, see the invitation here.
MAY 15 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CONGRESSIONAL EXHIBIT & RECEPTION; 5:30-7:30 p.m. ET, Rayburn House Office Building Cafeteria.
MAY 22 CNSR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, & INFORMATION EXCHANGE (STIx) BRIEFING; 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. ET, 2325 Rayburn House Office Building. Register here. For more information, see invitation here. If interested in presenting a poster, email Aaron Kiesler.
