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:

Missouri Legislative Updates

HCS HB 1569
(https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB1569&year=2024&code=R)
Sponsor: Ann Kelley (R)
Synopsis: This bill contains multiple higher education related initiatives, which include increasing Access Missouri Financial Assistance Program amounts, creates a STEM grant for eligible Access Missouri recipients, creates a Career-Tech Certificate program, updates eligibility for the Fast Track Workforce Incentive Grant, and requires public institutions of higher education to adopt a policy to grant undergraduate course credit to incoming freshmen who receive a score of 4 or higher on an International Baccalaureate exam.
NOTE: The bill still does not distinguish between International Baccalareate SL and HL tests.
Status: Has passed in the House and have moved to the Senate for consideration

HB 2310 (https://house.mo.gov/Bill.aspx?bill=HB2310&year=2024&code=R) -Similar to SB 1075
Sponsor: Cameron Parker (R)
Synopsis: Modifies provisions of the Higher Education Core Curriculum Transfer Act. Would require the transition of Core 42 to a 60-credit hour program that must be in place by June 30, 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year. The bill allows students with an associate degree from a Missouri public institution of higher education to be considered as satisfying the transferable lower-division coursework requirements and upon transfer to a public institution no additional general education requirements for the same program of study will be required. Would require the development of at least five different “degree program” Core 60 sets.
Status: Voted “Do Pass” in House Executive Session and is on the calendar for a House third reading.

SCR 22 (https://www.senate.mo.gov/24info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=906046)
Sponsor: Jill Carter (R)
Synopsis: This act adds health and life sciences and immersive learning experiences to the mission of Missouri Southern State University.
Status: Has voted “Do Pass” in the House Higher Education Committee after already passing in the Senate.

SB 912 (https://www.senate.mo.gov/24info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&BillID=414)
Sponsor: Ben Brown (R)
Synopsis: This bill calls for a tuition and fee waiver for Missouri National Guard members attempting their undergraduate degree at a public institution of higher learning in Missouri. The waiver would be for remaining tuition and fees after federal military tuition assistance; state military tuition assistance;  additional scholarships; GI Bill entitlements; and federal financial grants to include Pell are applied. Fees are defined as only mandatory fees charged by an institution to all full-time students as a condition of enrollment. If this bill passes it would not take effect until the 2025-2026 academic year.  This waiver is capped at 120 credit hours and is for an undergraduate degree only.
Status: Passed in Senate, Referred to House Executive Session.
NOTE: Thanks to Keith Glindemann (Director, MU Student Veterans Resource and Support Center) for providing this synopsis.

Additional Legislative Articles of Interest

The reporting deadline for new gainful employment and financial value transparency rules originally scheduled for July 31 has been postponed to October 1. This is discussed in the below articles.

AACRAO Transcript: Department of Education Changes the Implementation Date for New Regulations

Inside Higher Ed: Education Department Heads Calls to Delay Gainful Reporting Deadline

Missouri Higher Education Compact: Continuing Enrollments in Professional Licensure Programs After July 1

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) will host Higher Education Licensure Pros for a special two-part webinar session Continuing Enrollments in Professional Licensure Programs after July 1 focused on the new Title IV certification procedures regulations that are effective July 1.

Part 1: What Leadership Needs to Know is specifically geared for college and university leaders. With so many changes coming from the U.S. Department of Education, it is hard for higher education leaders to keep up. These new regulations significantly expand responsibilities for institutions around professional and occupational licensure programs. As a result, programs will need to limit enrollment in certain states, or revise curricula to meet specific licensure requirements, creating impacts across all institutions.

Part 2: Implementation Challenges and Considerations will be specifically geared for college and university staff responsible for implementation. These significantly expanded responsibilities for institutions around professional and occupational licensure programs create many new compliance challenges, such as updating a student location policy, creating a written attestation process, and developing a research and curriculum comparison structure for determining if programs meet educational requirements.