Good morning MACRAO membership-

With the close of this year’s Missouri Legislature session on Friday, May 17, 2024, the Governmental Relations Committee is now able to provide a final summary of this legislative session. From a higher education perspective (and really a general perspective), there is a very limited amount of legislation that was passed. Much of the final week consisted of legislative filibuster and political party in-fighting with preventing the majority of bills from reaching the finish line.

Good afternoon MACRAO membership-

Below are legislative updates since our last post. This post includes progress on Missouri legislation and some national articles that we thought may be of interest to the membership. Note: The last day for the Missouri Legislature to pass non-budget bills in May 17.  Our next update will likely come after the close of session with a summary of the bills that made it to completion.

Good afternoon MACRAO membership-

Below are legislative updates since our last post. This post includes progress on Missouri legislation and some national articles that we thought may be of interest to the membership:

Good morning MACRAO membership-

Below are legislative updates since our last post. This post includes progress on Missouri legislation and some national articles that we thought may be of interest to the membership:

AACRAO has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education related to transcript withholding regulations via public letter. The MACRAO Governmental Relations Committee thought this may be of interest to the membership. A link to this letter can be found at the link below:

aacrao-response-to-proposed-trascript-withholding-regs.pdf

Good morning MACRAO membership-

Below are legislative updates since our last post on February 2. This post includes progress on Missouri legislation and some national articles that we thought may be of interest to the membership.

Hello MACRAO membership-

Below are legislative updates since our last post on January 12. Legislative movement has been limited thus far in early sessions as filibusters have limited legislative progress. Below are updates on additional bills that have been filed since the previous Governmental Relations Committee blog post along with some articles that we thought would be of interest to the membership.

The Missouri Legislature reopened on Wednesday, January 3. The MACRAO Governmental Relations Committee wanted to share with you a summary of some of the House and Sentate bills that were prefiled that may be of interest to the MACRAO membership, which are listed below. Additionally, there are a couple of AACRAO Transcript article links included that covers items that appear to be potential Department of Education areas of interest for the upcoming year.

House Bills

HB 1432 (https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB1432&year=2024&code=R)
Sponsor: Willard Haley (R)
Synopsis: This bill creates an alternative teaching certification process. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year the state board may authorize teaching certification to anyone with a bachelor’s degree or higher. This teaching certification will be limited to the holder’s major area of study.
Status: Prefiled

Good morning MACRAO-

The MACRAO Governmental Relations Committee wanted to check in with you as we approach the upcoming Missouri 103rd General Assembly session beginning in January 2024. First, we would like to introduce the MACRAO Governmental Relations team for the upcoming year. This group will track the bills and issues that may be of interest to the MACRAO membership. We will send out emails periodically throughout the legislative session to keep you informed about what is being discussed. If you see additional articles or information that you think would be of interest to MACRAO, we welcome you to share them with a member of this group.

On Tuesday, October 24, the US Education Department released a fact sheet titled Protecting Students Through Final Regulations That Strengthen Department of Education Oversight and Monitoring of Colleges and Universities. Several rules are included, but of particular interest to MACRAO membership is that colleges and universities will be restricted from withholding course credits paid for with Federal money from students' transcripts.

This Inside Higher Ed article talks about some of the interpretation challenges that colleges and universities will need to navigate, particularly as it relates to the concept of institutions figuring out whether to and how to attempt to withhold "parts of a transcript" when other parts are restricted from being withheld, or to eliminate withholding transcripts completely.

In our earlier legislative updates this academic year, we mentioned that the Supreme Court would be hearing two cases (Harvard, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) related to affirmative action and admissions. The decisions in these cases were released yesterday morning, so the MACRAO Governmental Relations Committee wanted to provide you an update. The admissions systems used by these two institutions were determined to be unconstitutional. We have included links to Inside Higher Ed and AACRAO articles related to the decision as well as a link to the Supreme Court decision below.

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/admissions/2023/06/29/supreme-court-rules-against-affirmative-action

The Missouri 2023 Legislative Session came to a conclusion on Friday, May 12. Below is a summary of the legislation that would most likely be of MACRAO interest that did (or did not) pass. The majority of the bills highlighted in our updates throughout the last few months ultimately did not pass. Of course, all passed legislation must still be signed or could be potentially vetoed by the Governor’s office, requiring further legislative consideration in a future veto session scheduled for this fall.

Budget Highlights

Good morning MACRAO membership-

The MACRAO Governmental Relations Committee wanted to provide the membership an update on where House and Senate bills currently stand as well as some AACRAO-related updates.

The two topics to bring to your are attention this week are:

HB 2387 was discussed this week. It would establish the 21st Century Missouri Education Task Force. The task force would include members of the general assembly, other stakeholders including members of the business community, the Commissioner of Education, and the Commissioner of Higher Education.  The task force’s mission would include evaluating current educational processes and funding. It would make recommendations for legislation and submit a report summarizing its activities to the General Assembly before Aug. 28, 2021. The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry spoke in favor of the legislation.

Just a couple quick updates for you.

 Last week SB 642 had a hearing.  The legislation seeks to codify into statute budgetary instructions included in HB 3 since 2015 that prevent public institutions from offering in-state tuition to students with unlawful immigration status.  Proponents testified that the legislation would reinforce current federal law and end subsidized tuition during a time of scarce resources. Opponents testified that the bill would encourage affected students to seek postsecondary and future workforce opportunities outside the state.

FYI the Governor signed SB304, last week, the bill that clarifies combat veteran definition and limits graduate tuition to 30% of cost of tuition and fees. This bill also gives us the ability to tell the veteran that they could waive the tuition reduction if they have federal aid that would cover the cost so it is not a financial burden to the institution. We will have to see how the Department of Higher Education decides to write rules on this portion of the law.

Here is a link: https://www.senate.mo.gov/19info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=2339132

MACRAO Legislative Update 2019-05-31

Below are the highlights.  The session ended. Now it’s tracking what gets signed!

 State Legislative Updates:

*Taken from AACRAO reports

MACRAO Legislative Update 2019-05-03

Below are the highlights.  There are other “educational” bills, but I’ve tried to focus on issues that directly impact our work as registrars, admissions officers or enrollment managers. There’s a lot to watch, so if you hear of something I missed, let me know!!  I’ll try to track it down.

CORE 42 and MOTR Courses Update:

• The database of approved course for CORE 42 2019-20 is now posted. CORE 42 website.  These are courses for which we need to submit our equivalents, change our previously submitted equivalents or delete previous equivalents.  

 There are the new Knowledge Area requirements since last spring.  These are outlined on the Knowledge Areas in the Course Transfer Tracker system.

MACRAO Legislative Update 2019-04-06

Here’s my highlights. There are other “educational” bills, but I’ve tried to focus on issues that directly impact our work as registrars, admissions officers or enrollment managers.

State Changes or bills not previously noted:

• HB 1093 - Allows dual credit students who are studying approved STEM courses to be reimbursed for 100% of the costs.  This bill has been heard in special committee.

• HB 744 - This bill would review evaluate and make recommendations regarding the condition of the state’s public higher education system. It has been heard in committee. 

• Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant – HCS HB 225 Goal is to meet increase the number of adults with college degrees and/or workforce training.  The bill continues to move forward (it has passed out of the House and had one reading in the Senate), but the question of funding due to the recent discoveries about lower-than anticipated state revenue casts some doubt on the likelihood it can be fully funded. However, tweaks continue to be made. The current version states that to qualify individuals need to not have a degree, have an adjusted gross income of less than $80,000 if the taxpayer's filing status is married filing combined, or $40,000 if the taxpayer's filing status is single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er). In addition, such student must be at least 25 years of age. Grant funding may be renewed, but the student must continue to meet the eligibility requirements and must demonstrate a grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.  Senate Education Committee received public testimony. Committee members asked about claw back provisions and the three-year sunset, the culture of work, and programs that would be covered by the grant.

NO update on the following 

MACRAO Legislative Update 2019-03-05

 State:

• HB 1606 (From 2018) - Don’t forget that by Oct. 1, 2019, your institution must include in your catalog and on your website specific career and salary information for each credential offered by a public institution of higher education.  Your IR folks should be deep into preparing the information that is due to MDHE by next week.  See https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills181/hlrbillspdf/5095S.06T.pdf 

• Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant – HCS HB 225 Goal is to meet increase the number of adults with college degrees and/or workforce training.  The bill continues to move forward (it has passed out of the House and had one reading in the Senate), but the question of funding due to the recent discoveries about lower-than anticipated state revenue casts some doubt on the likelihood it can be fully funded. However, tweaks continue to be made. The current version states that to qualify individuals need to not have a degree, have an adjusted gross income of less than $80,000 if the taxpayer's filing status is married filing combined, or $40,000 if the taxpayer's filing status is single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er). In addition, such student must be at least 25 years of age. Grant funding may be renewed, but the student must continue to meet the eligibility requirements and must demonstrate a grade-point average of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.  

• STEM Certificates for high school students - HB 456 https://house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills191/hlrbillspdf/1145H.01I.pdf  This bill would allow high schools that want to do so to develop a STEM certification for their students.  This would not directly impact all of higher ed.  

• Returning Heroes – HB 400 (https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB400&year=2019&code=R) There is an effort to modify the act to include benefits for graduate students (masters and doctorate) seeking degrees. The maximum that the students can be assessed is 30% of tuition and fees.  Students must have been in active duty combat and must claim the benefit within 20 years of being discharged. The veteran must have been a Missouri resident when first entering the military or entered military service in Missouri. Update – move to “Do Pass” in the House so it is ready for a hearing.  

• Budget Time –Highlights from last week include a reduction in funding for the Fast Track program related to a new fiscal estimate for the revised bill and the Senate Appropriations Committee took up capital improvements, maintenance and repair, and capital re-appropriations budgets that include some $13 million in re-appropriations for higher education institutions. 

• Required On-Campus Housing – HB 435 (https://house.mo.gov/bill.aspx?bill=HB435&year=2019&code=R)  Prohibits public institutions of higher education from requiring students to live on campus, except for first-year freshmen who may be required to live in campus housing for their first year.  A public hearing was completed.

Federal/ national issues:

•  Negotiators Convene to Rewrite Wide Range of Higher Ed Rules – The department held it’s second meeting, part of which was cancelled due to snow.  At this point there is a lot of discussion and not much decision making.  Topics include what is “regular and substantive interaction” for distance courses, allowing institutions to “outsource” to a non-Title IV entity more than the current 40% limit and could go up to a full 100%! This was not positively received by the non-federal negotiators. There will be a fourth round of negotiations due to the volume and number of proposed changes.  There were also vocal opposition to some proposed changes to accreditation that included alternative standards and ensuring that transfer credits could never be denied.  Stay tuned!