CONTENTS:
- Mary Sue’s Desk: AAU Universities Double Down on Commitment to Sexual Assault Prevention
- AAU President Calls for Recommitment to America’s Government-University Partnership
- Administration to Limit Authorization for International Student Visa Holders
- Education Department Announces Accreditation and Innovation Rulemaking Committee
- College Board Releases Annual Trends Data
- Federal Judge Declines to Block Loan Forgiveness Rules
- NSF Announces Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Funding Opportunities
MARY SUE’S DESK: AAU UNIVERSITIES DOUBLE DOWN ON
COMMITMENT TO SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman on Monday released a new blog post to expand on AAU’s collective decision to administer a 2019 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct. She writes, “Though much work has already been done across AAU institutions to prevent and better address this issue, we must continue to gather data and constantly reevaluate our efforts to gauge whether they are effective for new groups of students.”
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AAU PRESIDENT CALLS FOR RECOMMITMENT TO AMERICA’S
GOVERNMENT-UNIVERSITY PARTNERSHIP
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman contributed an article to yesterday’s 50 th anniversary issue of Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning. In the article, Recommitting to America’s Unique Government-University Partnership , President Coleman underscores the importance of the partnership between government and universities. For the last 70 years, the federal government has fostered a unique partnership with America’s preeminent research universities to drive technological innovation, improve public health, and build an unmatched military superiority. This social contract allows research universities to educate tomorrow’s leaders while finding solutions to national challenges.
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She writes, “It is critical that each of the partners—the federal government, the states, and research universities—reaffirm and strengthen this partnership.” President Coleman outlines a path forward to strengthen the partnership.
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LEARN MORE: Visit AAU’s Government-University Partnership Page |
ADMINISTRATION TO LIMIT AUTHORIZATION FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT VISA HOLDERS
The administration on Wednesday released its fall 2018 regulatory agenda , which includes notice of a to-be-proposed rule that would establish a maximum period of authorized stay for international student visa holders. Under current policy, foreign students typically enter the U.S. for “duration of status,” meaning a student can remain in the country until completion of their academic program. The rule would replace “duration of status” with a maximum period of authorized stay that could remove flexibility for people who may take longer to complete their degrees. A notice of proposed rulemaking will likely be released in September 2019. Inside Higher Ed has more .
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES ACCREDITATION
AND INNOVATION RULEMAKING COMMITTEE
The Education Department earlier this month announced an “accreditation and innovation” negotiated rulemaking committee , to begin work in January 2019, with final regulations expected July 1, 2020. The committee will be broken into topic-based subcommittees covering the following: accreditation, distance learning and educational innovation, TEACH grants, and participation by faith-based educational entities. Issues likely covered by the committee include: criteria used by the Secretary to recognize accrediting agencies; expansion of distance and competency-based education; state authorization requirements; protections to ensure that accreditors recognize an respect institutional mission, and the evaluation of policies and programs based on that mission; and the removal of barriers to Title IV eligibility for faith-based entities.
COLLEGE BOARD RELEASES ANNUAL TRENDS DATA
The College Board on Tuesday released its annual Trends in College Pricing and Trends in Student Aid reports. The trends in college pricing report shows that, after increasing for decades, the real cost of attending both public and private college is flat and, in some cases declined this year, as colleges compete for fewer students by providing more scholarships. Behind that decline is a rise in institutional grants—aid schools offer students that do not require repayment. Grants and tax benefits climbed to $21,220 this year, up from $13,860 in 2008 (in 2018 dollars) at private schools. At public institutions they rose to $6,490 this year from $4,970 in 2008. The annual student aid report finds a decline in education borrowing for the seventh consecutive year.
FEDERAL JUDGE DECLINES TO BLOCK LOAN FORGIVENESS RULES
On Tuesday, a federal judge declined to bar borrower defense to repayment rules and colleges’ use of mandatory arbitration agreements, citing that the plaintiff – the California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools – “failed to carry its burden of demonstrating that any one of its members is likely to suffer an irreparable injury” should the rules take effect. The ruling means most Obama-era rules will take effect since the judge also ruled that the Education Department’s various delays of the regulations are illegal. The administration last week announced it would not seek to further postpone the regulations.
NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD ISSUES MID-SCALE RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE REPORT
The National Science Board earlier this week issued a new report on mid-scale research infrastructure. The report makes several recommendations for a sustained, “transparent approach to funding mid-scale research infrastructure” and recommends a $60 million investment in its mid-scale Big Idea for FY19. According to the NSB press release, the report “found that while NSF funds a sizable number of awards in the $10 million-$70 million range, mid-scale research infrastructure appears to be underrepresented compared to other investments, such as research centers, especially in the $20 million-$70 million range.”
The National Science Foundation recently issued a Dear Colleague Letter on Mid-scale Research Opportunities , which mentions NSF’s plans to issue two solicitations for mid-scale RI projects this fall. The first solicitation will fund a mid-scale RI project that costs between $6 million and $20 million. The second solicitation is expected to fund a mid-scale RI project that costs between $20 million and $70 million.