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NASPA Public Policy Division Update

NASPA Public Policy Division Update. Matt Aschenbrener Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Retention University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. Agenda. Recap of NASPA’s Public Policy Agenda Federal Policy Updates Higher Education Act Reauthorization The Pell Grant Program

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NASPA Public Policy Division Update

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  1. NASPAPublic Policy Division Update Matt Aschenbrener Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment and Retention University of Wisconsin – Whitewater

  2. Agenda • Recap of NASPA’s Public Policy Agenda • Federal Policy Updates • Higher Education Act Reauthorization • The Pell Grant Program • Affordable Care Act • Affirmative Action • Violence Against Women Act • New NASPA Website • Additional resources (websites and information) • Questions and Answers

  3. Special Thanks To: • Brian A. Sponsler – NASPA Vice President for Research and Policy • Edward Smith – NASPA Senior Policy Analyst • Lisa Erwin - Public Policy Division Director • NASPA Public Policy Division • NASPA Research and Policy Institute Staff – RPI (Brian, Ed, Alexis Wesaw [Senior Policy Analyst] and Laura Sponsler [Content Director, Civic Learning & Democratic Engagement] and their External Advisory Board

  4. NASPA’s Public Policy Agenda • Student success and college completion • Issues related to undocumented students • Cost of and funding for higher education • Additional policy areas of interest • Campus crime • Student veteran transitions • Mental health • More information available on NASPA webpage: http://bit.ly/1f4indQ

  5. Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization • Current legislation expires on December 31, 2013 – no likelihood of reauthorization before then • House Committee on Education and the Workforce closed public comment period • House (Education and the Workforce) and Senate (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) committees hosted public hearings in the fall • Public hearings will continue intermittently during spring 2014

  6. Higher Education Act (HEA) Reauthorization • Committees are interested in the following areas: • Empowering students as consumers in higher education; • Simplifying and improving the student aid and loan programs; • Increasing college accessibility, affordability, and completion; • Encouraging institutions to reduce costs; • Promoting innovation to improve access to and delivery of higher education; and • Balancing the need for accountability with the burden of federal requirements (accreditation).

  7. Pell Grant Program The Pell Grant Program: Recent Growth and Policy Options (Congressional Budget Office, September 2013)

  8. Pell Grant Program • Why did the program’s cost increase so much? • Changes in the economy; • Changes in the way postsecondary education is provided; and • Choices made by policymakers to expand the program. • How would various policy changes affect the program? • Reduce the number of grant recipients; • Reduce the amounts of the grants; • Increase the grant amounts; and • Simplify eligibility criteria and the grant application.

  9. Pell Grant Program Congressional Budget Office Recommendations Framework (Adapted by NASPA PPD, September 2013)

  10. Affordable Care Act (ACA) • March 23, 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) • October 1, 2013 open enrollment for the health insurance marketplace began (runs through March 31) • Some states have state-based Exchanges/Marketplaces while others defaulted to the federally facilitated ones • Exchanges are online markets where individuals and small businesses can compare policies and buy insurance.

  11. Affordable Care Act (ACA) • The Department of Health and Human Services’ “Individual Mandate” requires every U.S. resident to have minimum essential health coverage – including college students

  12. Affordable Care Act (ACA) • What health insurance options are available to college students? • Coverage as a dependent on parents’ health insurance plan to the age of 26; • Coverage through Medicaid based on expanded eligibility requirements in some states; • Coverage through the exchange; with premium tax credit based on income requirements; • Catastrophic plan offered through the exchange; • School-sponsored Student Health Insurance Plan; and • Coverage through an individual health plan offered outside of the exchange.

  13. Affordable Care Act (ACA) • Issues NASPA RPI Staff are tracking and will continue to update members on: • Eligibility requirements / coverage requirements for student workers, including RA’s. • Streamlined information about student registration options by state. • Any adjustments to roll-out process and/or important deadlines for compliance.

  14. Affirmative Action • Fisher v. University of Texas • In a 7–1 decision, the Court vacated and remanded the Fifth Circuit's ruling. • They concluded that the Fifth Circuit failed to apply strict scrutiny in its decision affirming the admissions policy. “It presumed that the school had acted in good faith and gave petitioner the burden of rebutting that presumption.” • The Court did not rule on the constitutionality of the University of Texas’s admission practices. • The Court reaffirmed that diversity is an acceptable institutional priority and a compelling government interest.

  15. Affirmative Action • Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action • Issue: Involves challenge of Proposal 2, a 2006 Michigan ballot designed to prohibit preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment or public education (popularized implications on race-conscious college admissions policies). • Deciding: Whether a state violates the Equal Protection Clause by amending its constitution to prohibit race- and sex-based discrimination or preferential treatment in public-university admissions decisions.

  16. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) • On September 19, 2013, Department of Education published a notice announcing intent to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee that will develop proposed regulations to implement changes to Campus Safety Act • Names submitted by Consortium as rulemaking panelists : • Ms. Beth Devonshire, JD, Bridgewater State University • Dr. Dennis Gregory, Old Dominion University • NASPA nominated Dr. Lisa Erwin, Vice Chancellor, University of Minnesota – Duluth; Chair of PPD

  17. New NASPA Web Site

  18. New NASPA Web Site http://www.naspa.org/rpi

  19. New NASPA Web Site http://www.naspa.org/constituent-groups

  20. New NASPA Web Site http://www.naspa.org/constituent-groups/groups/public-policy-division

  21. Other Resources • U.S. Department of Education's page for HEA Reauthorization information and activities: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/leg/hea08/index.html • “What You Need to Know About Reauthorization” (The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 2013) http://chronicle.com/article/What-You-Need-to-Know-About/141697/ • Senate HELP Committee Hearing Schedule: http://www.help.senate.gov/hearings/ • House Committee on Education and the Workforce Schedule: http://edworkforce.house.gov/calendar/list.aspx?EventTypeID=189

  22. Other Resources • The Pell Grant Program: Recent Growth and Policy Options (Congressional Budget Office, September 2013): http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/44448_PellGrants_9-5-13.pdf • U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS Blog) http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/schuette-v-coalition-to-defend-affirmative-action/ • American Civil Liberties Union Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action Fact Sheet https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/assets/schuette_fact_sheet_final_2_2.pdf

  23. Other Resources • To locate information on exchange options visit www.healthcare.gov or call toll-free at 800-318-2596 • Impact of Affordable Care Act on Campus Healthcare Service (NASPA RPI, July 2013): http://www.naspa.org/rpi/reports/impact-of-the-affordable-care-act-on-campus-healthcare-service • Helping Students Understand Health Care Reform and Enroll in Health Insurance (Center for Law and Social Policy and Young Invincibles, June, 2013) • http://www.clasp.org/admin/site/publications/files/ACA-Toolkit_Helping-Students-Understand-Health-Care-Reform-and-Enroll-in-Health-Insurance.pdf • Health and Human Services ACA Fact Sheets: • http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/

  24. Other Resources • Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf • S. 47: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (Gov. Track): https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s47/text • Notice of Proposed Ruleshttp://www.ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/attachments/FR091913Negotia edRulemakingViolenceAgainstWomenAct.pdf

  25. Questions… • Feel free to contact me at: • Matt Aschenbrener • UW-Whitewater • 262-472-1570 • aschenbm@uww.edu

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