Controversial Student Visa Rule Withdrawn
The Biden administration formally withdrew a rule proposed by the Trump administration that would have required international students to reapply for student visas after fixed terms of up to four years. The rule would have eliminated the long-standing “duration of status” policy, which allows international students to stay in the U.S. indefinitely without reapplying for a visa as long as they remain enrolled in college and otherwise in compliance with the requirements governing their visa status. The proposed rule, which was not finalized before former President Trump left office and was never enacted, also would have limited the initial visa term for some students to just two years based on their country of origin. Students from Africa and parts of Asia would have been disproportionately affected by the proposal to restrict students to a two-year initial visa term if they came from countries with high visa overstay rates. ( Inside Higher Ed - July 7, 2021)
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AAU, Higher Education Community Send Letter to ED on Topics for Negotiated Rulemaking
AAU, ACE, and 35 other organizations in the higher education community have sent a letter to the Department of Education on topics that the department should consider as part of its stated intention to pursue negotiated rulemaking on programs under the Higher Education Act. The letter emphasized that any effort to revise regulations should promote opportunity for all students and enhance institutional efforts. It urged that regulations should produce processes that are data-driven, transparent, and targeted to the issues they are meant to address. The letter also asked the department to employ risk-based oversight and enforcement. Topics proposed in the letter include change of ownership and change in control of institutions of higher education; standards of administrative capability; borrower defense to repayment; the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program; gainful employment; Pell Grant eligibility for prison education programs; TRIO programs; Section 117; and more. ( Association of American Universities - July 7, 2021)
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AAU, Associations Urge Education Secretary Cardona to Expand Eligibility for Federal TRIO Programs to Dreamers
AAU joined 86 associations and organizations in urging Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to remove the requirement that participants in TRIO programs be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The restrictive regulations, according to the coalition’s letter, “close the doors of TRIO services” to students who meet all other eligibility requirements but are undocumented or lack a pathway to lawful permanent residence. Expanding eligibility, the coalition notes, would especially benefit Dreamers and the more than 427,000 undocumented immigrants enrolled in higher education. ( Association of American Universities - July 7, 2021)
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Help for Community College Students
As momentum grows around providing students with supports that foster retention and completion, a bill seeking to address one of the biggest hindrances in bringing these types of programs to community colleges has been reintroduced in the Senate, with a path forward appearing to be clearer than in years past. The Community College Student Success Act was reintroduced last week by Democratic senators Brian Schatz of Hawaii and Sherrod Brown of Ohio to provide what many community colleges need most to develop robust student support services: funding. The bill has been introduced in previous sessions, and the latest version doesn’t have any substantial changes. It would authorize $10 billion in grant funding over a decade for planning and executing comprehensive wraparound services —like free tutoring, textbooks and transportation —for full-time students at community colleges. Meanwhile, $5 billion would be authorized to provide the same services to part-time students. ( Inside Higher Ed - July 8, 2021)
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Report Linking Institutions to Sex Trafficking Prompts Congressional Investigation
The Department of Education has been asked to share its policies and procedures for protecting against sex trafficking in postsecondary education following a report linking vocational schools to prostitution or human trafficking. The chair of a House Oversight and Reform subcommittee sent a letter Tuesday to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, asking for the department's assistance in "rooting out any remaining issues." The subcommittee is asking the department to provide "all DOE policies and procedures relating to identifying indicia of prostitution, sex work, human trafficking, or sex trafficking in postsecondary education," as well as all documents related specifically to AAAOM and a list of all department funding that has been received by cosmetology and massage schools by July 20. ( Inside Higher Ed - July 8, 2021)
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FY 22 APPROPRIATIONS NEWS
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HSST Chairwoman Johnson Sends Appropriations Proposals to HAC
On July 1, House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) sent three letters with FY22 appropriations proposals to House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). The letters address the president’s FY22 budget request for various federal agencies and programs that support the nation’s science, technology, and innovation enterprise. ( Association of American Universities - July 7, 2021)
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