“We are pleased Senate Republicans have created a stimulus plan acknowledging the financial challenges facing colleges and universities today. While the funding in the HEALS Act will be helpful, it falls far short of the amounts necessary to stabilize public college and university budgets. Reductions in state appropriations, foregone revenue, and unexpected costs have put unprecedented financial pressure on public higher education, with continued economic uncertainty and the prospect of more cuts in state appropriations in the months ahead. Without sufficient federal funding, campus budget shortfalls will threaten student access to high-quality, affordable college opportunities and diminish the capacity of these institutions to address state needs during this challenging time.  

The HEALS Act also relies too heavily on federal distribution formulas to institutions, which does not adequately recognize individual campus needs and the longstanding partnership between states and public higher education. More federal funding should be reserved for states in order to allow state leaders to target resources to campuses with the greatest need.

The legislation does, however, make some notable improvements from the CARES Act, including boosting the share of funding for minority-serving institutions. We look forward to working with Congress to create a final bill that appropriately addresses the needs of higher education today and recognizes their central role in growing our economy and helping in the national recovery effort.

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The administration’s new policy is highly problematic for college campuses and the more than one million international students they serve. International students are integral to the fabric of campus communities and contribute billions to the American economy. The policy will leave lasting damage on America’s reputation as a welcoming destination for international students seeking high-quality college opportunities. Colleges and their states will be worse off as these students bypass the U.S. to pursue higher education elsewhere in the years ahead.

This rule will also needlessly present new challenges and added confusion for international students, along with state higher education leaders working to create safe, productive learning environments amid a pandemic and deep budget cuts. State higher education leaders need more resources and flexibility from Washington to effectively navigate this crisis, not unnecessary and harmful rules and regulations.

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NCHEMS, in partnership with SHEEO and with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, has developed an Excel tool to help state agency staff think about and model the potential impacts of the COVID crisis on enrollments, finances, costs, and completions. They also have produced a white paper describing the underlying theories and assumptions that inform the tool, how the tool might be used, a few example scenarios using three different states, and step-by-step instructions for using the tool.

Please reach out to David Tandberg (dtandberg@sheeo.org), at SHEEO, or Brian Prescott (brian@nchems.org), at NCHEMS, with any questions.