CONTENTS:
- Mary Sue’s Desk: Of Geese and Glick
- AAU Thanks Appropriations Leaders for FY19 Higher Ed, Research Investments
- CNSR Thanks Appropriators for FY19 Defense Research Boosts
- House Committee Holds Intellectual Freedom Hearing
- Borrower Defense, Gainful Employment Rules Likely Delayed
- USCIS Makes Announcement Regarding F-1 “Cap-gap” Status and Work Authorization
MARY SUE’S DESK: OF GEESE AND GLICK
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AAU President Mary Sue Coleman today released a new blog post featuring the research of 2018 Golden Goose Award recipient, Dr. Bruce Glick. The Golden Goose Award recognizes scientists whose silly-sounding or obscure research has gone on to yield enormous societal impact. |
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AAU THANKS APPROPRIATIONS LEADERS FOR FY19 HIGHER ED, RESEARCH INVESTMENTS
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman today wrote to House and Senate Appropriations leaders to applaud their efforts in securing increased higher education and research investments in FY19 and urge completion of the remaining FY19 appropriations bills after the midterm elections. President Coleman said that their support for the NIH, departments of Energy and Defense research, and the increase to the Pell Grant maximum award “represent another important step in renewing the federal government-university partnership that has helped secure our nation and resulted in leaps in technological innovation, improved public health, and sustained economic growth.”
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RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU’s FY19 Funding Priorities table |
CNSR THANKS APPROPRIATORS FOR FY19 DEFENSE RESEARCH BOOSTS
The Coalition for National Security Research, of which AAU is a member, wrote to House and Senate defense appropriators to commend their efforts in securing increased FY19 Defense Science & Technology (S&T) funds. The letter says, “We applaud this bill as exemplary of the delicate balance that must be struck between immediate and long-term considerations.”
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RESOURCES AVAILABLE: FY19 Department of Defense funding priorities table |
HOUSE COMMITTEE HOLDS INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM HEARING
On September 27, the House Judiciary Committee’s Constitution and Civil Justice Subcommittee held a hearing titled "The State of Intellectual Freedom in America." The first panel addressed alleged political bias on the part of college and university administrators against certain professors. Witnesses on the first panel were Dr. Mike Adams (Professor, University of North Carolina at Wilmington); Dr. Peter Wood (President, National Association of Scholars); Mike Simkovic (Professor, University of Southern California Gould School of Law); and Dr. Tim Groseclose (Professor, George Mason University). Three of the witnesses – Drs. Adams, Wood, and Groseclose – argued that professors, students, and staff who identify as conservative are routinely discriminated against and denied their First Amendment rights on campuses. Mr. Simkovic took the opposite view, maintaining that there is little evidence of discrimination against conservatives or libertarians in academic hiring and, moreover, that universities and think tanks have at times discriminated in favor of conservative and libertarian scholarship.
BORROWER DEFENSE, GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT RULES LIKELY DELAYED
In a court filing Tuesday, the Education Department indicated the agency will miss a November 1 deadline to revise regulations on borrower defense to repayment rules. Under the Higher Education Act, the delays mean that the administration’s revisions would not take effect until July 2020 at the earliest. The department attributes the borrower defense to repayment rule delay to “the volume of comments received, uncertainty as to the future of the 2016 Rule as a result of litigation, and the complexity of the issues.”
According to media reports, the department is also reportedly likely to miss the deadline for re-writing gainful employment rules, also set for November 1. An unnamed ED official told reporters that the gainful employment rule will “hopefully” be finalized by the end of the year, without offering specific timing.
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RESOURCES AVAILABLE: Associations Comment on Proposed Borrower Defense to Repayment Rule (08/30/18); Associations Comment on Proposed Rule to Rescind Gainful Employment (09/13/18) |
USCIS MAKES ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING F-1
“CAP-GAP” STATUS AND WORK AUTHORIZATION
U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services announced last Friday that F-1 students who have an H-1B petition that remains pending on October 1, 2018 risk accruing unlawful presence if they continue to work on or after October 1, as their “cap-gap” authorization is only valid through September 30. This announcement may impact universities as employers. Further information can be found at nafsa.org.