Skip to content
News and updates

News and updates

International Education Meeting to Commemorate Title VI Anniversary

Posted on

Next month, campus international education officials and a number of university presidents and chancellors will come to Washington, D.C. for a conference to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Title VI, which authorizes the international education programs funded through the Department of Education.

The Title VI meeting and celebration will be held March 19 to 21 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill at 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW.

Additional information about the conference is available at: http://titlevi50th.msu.edu/ .

Campus Safety Act Passes House

Posted on

On February 3rd, the House of Representatives passed the Campus Safety Act of 2009 (HR 748) by voice vote. The legislation was sponsored by Congressman Robert C. Scott (D-VA), chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. The measure has drawn bipartisan support, including that of the subcommittee’s ranking member, Louie Gohmert (R-TX). The legislation authorizes the creation of a center that would provide $2.8 million in educational and training grants to campus public safety and mental health offices. The Campus Safety Center would also develop protocols for responding to campus emergencies and serve as a clearinghouse of information on best practices for campuses. The bill now move to the Senate for consideration. If approved, funding would need to be appropriated for the center in the annual appropriations process.

Senate Considering Amendments to Economic Recovery Package

Posted on

A procedural rule requiring that 60 senators vote to end debate on a piece of legislation has necessitated a more bi-partisan approach to passing an economic recovery in the Senate as compared to the House of Representatives. A series of amendments are expected to be offered and voted on throughout the day, as has been the case in days past, some beneficial to the higher education community and others detrimental. On Tuesday, Senator Harkin (D-IA) was successful in utilizing the amendment process to have $6.5 billion added to the funding already set-aside for NIH, for a total of nearly $10 billion to the agency. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is expected to offer an amendment that would increase the higher education infrastructure funding level in the Senate bill to $6 billion, which would equal the amount in the House bill.

A package of proposed cuts to the stimulus package is now being worked on by Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME). The package is designed to scrub funding from the legislation that is not deemed as providing an immediate stimulus to the economy. The Nelson-Collins package is now seen as the only clear path to the 60 votes necessary to avoid a filibuster.

A final economic recovery package is likely to come to a vote in the Senate before Monday February 9th.

Nomination Sought for Advisory Panel on Burdensome Regulations within Higher Education Act

Posted on

A provision in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), enacted late last year, mandates that an existing federal student aid advisory group begin collecting information on burdensome federal regulations and develop recommendations to improve institutional compliance and reduce duplication and inefficiency.

To comply with its new charge, the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance – which provides independent advice to the Secretary of Education and Congress – is forming an expert review panel of representatives from the higher education community, across all sectors.

The Association of American Universities is soliciting nominees for this panel. The names of suggested members for the panel should be provided to Jonathan Nurse by Thursday February 5th.

The Advisory Committee expects to announce members of the expert review panel in March or April, 2009. The committee will cover travel expenses for panel participants. Committee meeting dates have not been announced.