Good morning MACRAO membership-

The Missouri Legislature reopened on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. The MACRAO Government Relations Committee wanted to share with you a summary of some of the House and Senate bills that were pre-filed (reviewed those submitted as of December 30, 2025) that may be of interest to the MACRAO membership, which are listed below.  The status of these bills (and additional bills proposed as the session progresses) will be reported periodically throughout the spring semester as legislative session progression occurs. Additionally, we have shared some articles below that we felt may be of interest to MACRAO members.

Good morning MACRAO membership-

The MACRAO Government Relations Committee wanted to check in with you as we approach the upcoming Missouri General Assembly session opening on January 7, 2026. First, we would like to introduce the MACRAO Government 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. You may also contact us via email through [email protected].

Good afternoon MACRAO membership-

The Government Relations Committee wanted to provide you with information on proposed rule changes for nonimmigrants in the F (academic student) and J (exchange visitor) classifications. Below are some excerpts from the Summary of the Proposed Regulatory Provisions in section B in the Federal Register:

• Setting the authorized admission and extension periods for F and J nonimmigrants up to the program length, not to exceed a 4-year period;
• For F-1 students changing educational objectives or transferring to an SEVP-certified school, requiring that the student complete his or her first academic year of a program of study at the school that initially issued his or her Form I-20 or successor form, unless an exception is authorized by SEVP;
• Requiring any nonimmigrant who has completed a program at one educational level to only be allowed to begin another program at a higher educational level while in F-1 status and prohibiting a change to the same or a lower educational level while in F-1 status;
• Prohibiting F-1 students at the graduate education level from changing programs at any point during a program of study.
• Decreasing from 60 to 30 days the allowed period for F-1 nonimmigrants to prepare to depart from the United States after completion of a course of study or authorized period of post-completion practical training;
• Providing for collection of biometric information in conjunction with an EOS application for F, J, and I nonimmigrants as may be required by 8 CFR 103.16;

DHS will accept public comments on the proposed rule until September 29, 2025 except that comments related to the Paperwork Reduction Act section must be received by September 27.  

Good morning MACRAO membership-

While there are no additional Missouri legislature updates to share, the Government Relations Committee wanted to share some additional articles that may be of interest to the membership.

Good morning MACRAO membership-

With the close of this year’s Missouri Legislature session, the Government Relations Committee is now able to provide a final summary of this legislative session. These bills have been passed pending the Governor signing them.

Good afternoon MACRAO membership-

Below are the latest Missouri legislative updates and links to articles we thought might be of interest to the membership.

Good evening MACRAO membership-

Below are the latest Missouri legislative updates and links to articles we thought might be of interest to the membership.

Good morning MACRAO membership-

Below are the latest Missouri legislative updates as well as links to several articles related to updates on the Education Department DEI guidance and this week's Education Departments layoffs.

Good morning MACRAO membership-

The Government Relations Committee wanted to provide you the latest legislative update.

MISSOURI LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

Good afternoon-

The MACRAO Government Relations Committee want to share this recent update from the US Department of Education related to the reopening of Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE). The reporting process has been reopened until February 18, 2025 to provide more time to institutions that were unable to complete debt reporting by the prior January 15, 2025 deadline.

Reopening of FVT and GE Debt Reporting Process Until Mid-February | Knowledge Center

Additionally, we wanted to share some additional bills that have been pre-filed in the Missouri Legislature since our previous blog post. These are included below.

Good morning MACRAO membership-

The Missouri Legislature reopened on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The MACRAO Government Relations Committee wanted to share with you a summary of some of the House and Senate bills that were pre-filed that may be of interest to the MACRAO membership, which are listed below. The status of these bills (and additional bills proposed) will be reported periodically throughout the spring semester as legislative session progression occurs. Additionally, as we near the January 20 presidential inauguration, we have shared some articles related to the status of some federal regulations.

Good afternoon MACRAO-

The MACRAO Government Relations Committee wanted to check in with you as we approach the upcoming Missouri General Assembly session opening on January 8, 2025. First, we would like to introduce the MACRAO Government 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. You may also contact us via email through [email protected].

Good afternoon-It appears that some MACRAO users may not have received two messages that were sent out on Sunday, November 24. These related to Gainful Employment. They have been reshared in this blog post.

Post 1-AACRAO, AIR, and NSC Gainful Employment and Financial Value Tranparency Discussion (December 4, 2024 at 2 pm CST)

Dec. 4 – Please join AACRAO, the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), and the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) for a discussion about the implementation of the Gainful Employment (GE) and Financial Value Transparency (FVT) data submission deadline of January 15, 2025 and any possible changes the incoming administration is considering.

During this session, AACRAO, AIR, and NSC will provide updates on what actions higher education is taking as well as provide an information on the outreach that institution have had with the NSC for their service to help institutional comply with the January 15^th deadline.  

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.