- Education Department Issues Title IX Final Rule
- IRS Issues Guidance for Taxation of Student Financial Aid Included in CARES Act
- AAU, Associations Urge Congress to Make Technical Corrections to CARES Act
- AAU Joins Associations to Endorse “American Opportunity Student Tax Relief Act”
- USPTO to Expedite Patent Examinations for COVID-19 Innovations
- Research Coalitions Urge Congress to Strengthen Research Enterprise Funding
- AAU, Associations Submit Comments on OSTP Public Access RFI
- Sens. Request $26 Billion For Research Relief in “Phase Four” COVID-19 Package
- AAU Announces Senior Fellows
- Upcoming Events
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ISSUES TITLE IX FINAL RULE
On Wednesday, the Education Department issued a final rule to amend Title IX regulations. The rule changes definitions of misconduct, sets new standards for launching investigations, changes the requirements for students to file complaints, and allows alleged perpetrators to challenge their accusers through lawyers or advisors.
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman issued a statement urging the department to delay the implementation of any new regulations until schools return to normal operations following the COVID-19 pandemic. “The department’s decision to implement new Title IX regulations during a global public health crisis is a clear indication that they are not interested in seriously consulting America’s colleges and universities to implement the regulations in a manner that best serves students’ interests,” the statement said.
IRS ISSUES GUIDANCE FOR TAXATION OF STUDENT FINANCIAL AID INCLUDED IN CARES ACT
Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service issued a document titled “FAQs: Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund and Emergency Financial Aid Grants under the CARES Act.” The document clarified that emergency student financial aid grants included in the CARES Act will not be counted as part of the recipients’ taxable income.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE CONGRESS TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO CARES ACT
AAU today joined ACE and 30 other higher education organizations on a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee requesting technical changes to certain provisions in the CARES Act and other statues to “better align existing federal requirements with the needs of students and campuses.” The letter suggests lawmakers expand eligibility of students for emergency grant aid; issue guidance on use of student emergency grant funds; provide flexibility for use of institutional funds; and more. The letter says implementing these proposals will “allow for a faster and more equitable distribution of CARES Act funding to where it is most needed, while also freeing institutions to dedicate available resources to serving their students and supporting their faculty and staff.”
AAU JOINS ASSOCIATIONS TO ENDORSE “AMERICAN OPPORTUNITY STUDENT TAX RELIEF ACT”
On Wednesday, AAU joined ACE and 14 other higher education organizations on a letter to Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) to endorse the “American Opportunity Student Tax Relief Act,” bipartisan legislation recently introduced by Reps. Doggett and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA). The legislation would temporarily increase the American Opportunity Tax Credit to $3,000, temporarily expand access for students in lower-tuition programs to the full $2,000 Lifetime Learning Credit, and eventually consolidate both programs into one simplified, permanent program that will provide up to $2,500 of annual tax relief for students and their families. The bill will also raise the lifetime AOTC cap to $15,000; increase the number of years students can use the credit; expand the partial refund for both the AOTC and LLC to a maximum of $1,500 each; and streamline the coordination of the AOTC, LLC, and Pell grants.
USPTO TO EXPEDITE PATENT EXAMINATIONS FOR COVID-19 INNOVATIONS
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office today announced a new program that will expedite patent examinations for patent applicants working on COVID-19-related drugs or treatments. The program, which will be free of charge, is limited to “small or micro” entities, including innovators working at colleges and universities; nonprofit groups; companies with fewer than 500 employees; and independent inventors. The program is part of the USPTO’s effort to make public ideas that could help end the pandemic, including a portal for patent owners to post virus-related patents that are available for licensing.
RESEARCH COALITIONS URGE CONGRESS TO STRENGTHEN RESEARCH ENTERPRISE FUNDING
On Monday, a group of research coalitions organized by the Task Force on American Innovation – which includes AAU – sent a letter to congressional leaders asking them to take “decisive actions to address the short- and long-term impacts of [the] nationwide ramp-down and shuttering of labs” caused by the dramatic reduction of non-COVID-19-related research activity. The letter cites the call – spearheaded by AAU in the AAU-APLU-AAMC-ACE COVID-19 Research Recommendations – for $26 billion for research relief funding.
TFAI was joined by 17 broad-based coalitions and groups that represent hundreds of companies, business and university associations, professional societies, and academic institutions committed to invigorating America’s research enterprise. AAU is a leader or member of many of the coalitions that joined the letter, including the Coalition for National Science Funding, the Coalition for National Security Research, United for Medical Research, Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, the AFRI Coalition, and the Energy Sciences Coalition.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS SUBMIT COMMENTS ON OSTP PUBLIC ACCESS RFI
AAU, APLU, and COGR submitted comments Wednesday in response to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s recent request for information on “Public Access to Peer-Reviewed Scholarly Publications, Data and Code Resulting from Federally Funded Research.” The comments include suggestions on how to overcome barriers to public access to federally funded research results, including federal investments in human and technical infrastructure. The comments also highlight the benefits of public access to research to America’s economic and scientific leadership and competitiveness and urge any new federal policy on public access to include an adequate implementation period for universities to adapt campus policies and practices.
SENS. REQUEST $26 BILLION FOR RESEARCH RELIEF IN “PHASE FOUR” COVID-19 PACKAGE
A bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) recently sent a letter to Senate leaders asking them to “address the challenges faced by the U.S. scientific research workforce during” the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter requests the inclusion of $26 billion in the fourth COVID-19 stimulus package to: supplement and extend research grants and contracts; provide emergency relief for research support personnel and facility operations; and fund additional graduate and postdoc student fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships.
Thirty-three senators signed on to the AAU-endorsed letter, which makes recommendations consistent with the AAU-AAMC-APLU-ACE COVID-19 Research Recommendations . Last week, 182 members of the House signed on to a similar bipartisan letter that AAU also endorsed.
AAU ANNOUNCES SENIOR FELLOWS
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman recently announced the appointment of two AAU Senior Fellows, Dr. Peter Schiffer and Dr. Joseph “Jay” Walsh . Dr. Schiffer and Dr. Walsh will work with AAU staff to address a broad portfolio of issues, including: challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic; research security and foreign interference in the research enterprise; public access to research results; scientific infrastructure; and the economic and social impact of university research. With their many years of hands-on experience, Dr. Schiffer and Dr. Walsh will play critical roles in shaping the best practices and development of response to the rapidly evolving research landscape.
Dr. Schiffer currently serves as the Frederick W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics at Yale University. He previously served as Yale’s vice provost for research and as vice chancellor for research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Walsh was recently announced as the interim vice president for economic development and innovation for the University of Illinois System effective May 16. He currently serves as professor of bioengineering and senior advisor to the president for research and science at Northwestern University, where he previously held the role of vice president for research.
UPCOMING EVENTS
MAY 22 DEADLINE FOR GOLDEN GOOSE COVID-19 RECOGNITION NOMINATIONS; Eligibility requirements and nomination submission form availablehere.