Roadmap for tomorrow James Bergeron, NCHER President Sue McMillin, NCHER Chair-Elect, and President and CEO, TG Jimmy Parker, NCHER Chairman, and Executive Director, Panhandle-Plains Higher Education Authority

What Happens Now? Similar to 2010/2011 when Republicans took the House, most legislative action will be pushed to January Short-term budget Only bills up for consideration are bills that are truly and wholly bipartisan and the new majority doesn’t want to have to deal with

What Happens Now? Next 2 weeks through December and maybe January Leadership elections (Speaker, Maj. Leaders, Maj. Whips, Min. Leaders, Min. Whips, Caucus Positions) Sets new Committee ratios, and begin appointments to Steering Committees and Committee on Committees – campaigning begins for open slots Begin appointments to Committees (starting with “As”, then “B”s, looking at philosophy, geographic rep, etc.)

What Happens Now? Through January House Committees must reconstitute themselves – meet to approve rules and subcommittee jurisdiction and membership (Higher Ed Subcommittee) Senate Committees are continuous bodies, but less work is done through their structure Educating members on major issues (internally and externally – Legislative Conference)

Impact of election on NCHER’s priorities More conservative, younger, and partisan U.S. House of Representatives (and Committees) Both sides want to keep conferences united because of leadership problems – focus on small-borne bills that have been vetted at first Skeptical about education policy and the role of the federal government May be open to more private sector involvement Brings personal experience to higher education policy Limited “waves” have stabilized Committee memberships

Impact of election on NCHER’s priorities More moderate U.S. Senate Increased collaboration between House and Senate on agenda, strategy, etc. Budget/appropriations becomes key to stopping administration’s priorities Both sides want to keep conferences united Still difficult to get much done Still early, rest to be determined

Legislative working group - charge Prepare a legislative planning document detailing the organization’s priorities for the 114 th Congress Collect, evaluate, and prioritize existing and requested legislative priorities (efforts to reauthorize the HEA, TCPA, etc.) Solicit input from the membership Develop realistic legislative proposals, including white papers and legislative language, for use at the Legislative Conference (Feb 2-4, 2015)

Legislative working group – themes/priorities Promoting Student Success Pre-college, in-school, and post-college financial literacy, debt management, and default prevention service efforts Improving current entrance and exit counseling Improving student transparency Assisting Struggling Borrowers Encouraging loan rehabilitation Leverage technology to help borrowers (TCPA) Access to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH)

Legislative working group – themes/priorities Promoting College Affordability and Limiting Over- borrowing Authority to reduce loan limits Supporting Year-Round Pell Grants Capping and underwriting standards into Parent PLUS Simplifying and Improving Student Aid Streamlining repayment plans Supporting the use of prior-prior tax information Streamlining the FAFSA

Legislative working group – themes/priorities Improving Program Administration Promoting better loan servicing Improving recovery/collection efforts Protecting federal assets Promoting Fair Value Scoring Cohort default rates for PLUS loans

Legislative working group – themes/priorities Expanding Opportunities/Resources for Students Promoting school certifications and counseling for alternative student loan borrowers Common-sense changes to preferred lender lists Promoting the use of 529 plans Help to tax-exempt financing Exempting death and disability discharges from income New proposals on the table – election results

Strategic Planning working group - charge Prepare a strategic planning document to better position NCHER and its membership or success over the next 3 years Review and refine the current Bylaws, including its mission, vision, goals, and objectives; membership; and governance structure. Conduct a SWOT analysis. Solicit input from the membership Propose short- and long-term goals for the organization and align them to budget and performance metrics

Strategic planning working group - goals Successfully reposition and rebrand our memberships’ services, and focus more on student-, borrower-, and family- centered activities Ensure the membership is a trusted, active, and credible voice on higher education policy with Congress, the Administration, and the postsecondary education community Preserve existing member assets and support the development of non-federal student aid programs and services that assist students, borrowers, and families

Strategic planning working group - goals Provide high-quality support, professional development, and technical assistance to members through conferences and the committee and caucus structure Identify and promote best practices in support of members’ missions to assist students, borrowers, and families to develop, pay for, and attain their educational goals and become contributing members of society Take a leadership role in promoting collaboration with external organizations on matters of mutual interests and facilitate increased collaboration among members and affiliates Maintain and grow the membership

Roadmap for tomorrow Questions?