Final Rules
- Implementing Regulation for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Environmental Effects of the Department of Veterans Affairs Actions Effective Date: 6/15/2026 Comments Due: 7/15/2026 #Veteran Affairs
- Conditions for Additional Information and Fee in Petitions Filed in Patent Applications and Patents Based on Unintentional Delay Effective Date: 8/13/2026 #Patents
- Schedules of Controlled Substances: Placement of Bromazolam in Schedule I; Correction Effective Date: 6/24/2026 for amendment #Research #UMC #UAPD #EHS
- Schedules of Controlled Substances: Temporary Placement of O-Desmethyltramadol in Schedule I Effective Date: 6/24/2026 #Research #UMC #UAPD #EHS
- Financial Data Transparency Act Joint Data Standards Effective Date: 10/1/2026 #Campus
- Alien Registration Form and Evidence of Registration Effective Date: 6/29/2026 #HR
Proposed Rules
- Proposed Rule for Privacy Act Exemptions Comments Due: 7/17/2026 #Campus
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 5, 24, and 29 Comments Due: 7/23/2026 #Procurement
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 1, 2, 4, 33, 39, 40, and 53 Comments Due: 7/23/2026 #Procurement
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 3 and 49 Comments Due: 7/23/2026 #Procurement
- Federal Acquisition Regulation: Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 6, 7, 10, 18, 26, 37, and 41 Comments Due: 7/23/2026 #Procurement
Notices
- Annual Updates to the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) Plan Formula for 2026-William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program #Student Financial Aid
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Federal Work Study (FWS) Wages for Student Aid Index Comments Due: 8/4/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- Federal Need Analysis Methodology for the 2027-28 Award Year-Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan, and TEACH Grant Programs #Student Financial Aid
- Solicitation of Nominations for Membership on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Nominations Due: 7/12/2026 #Campus
- Revision of Agency Information Collection Activity Under OMB Review: TSA PreCheck® Application Program Comments Due: 7/6/2026 #Campus
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Student Assistance General Provision-Subpart E-Verification Student Aid Application Information Comments Due: 7/15/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Information Collections: Requests To Approve Conformed Wage Classifications and Unconventional Fringe Benefit Plans Under the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act Comments Due: 8/14/2026 #Procurement #Contract Administration
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Application for Approval To Participate in Federal Student Aid Programs Comments Due: 7/16/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Fraud.gov Federal Program Waste, Fraud, and Abuse Tip Intake and Referral System Comments Due: 8/17/2026 #Campus
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Federal Direct Loan Program Regulations for Forbearance and Loan Rehabilitation Comments Due: 7/20/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- State Workforce Pell Program Certification; Correction #Student Financial Aid
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extralabel Drug Use in Animals Comments Due: 8/17/2026 #Research
- 2026-2027 Award Year Deadline Dates for Reports and Other Records Associated With the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Form, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Program (FSEOG) Program, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Program, the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) Program, the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program, and the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program Dates: See Tables A and B at end of notice #Student Financial Aid
- Federal Direct Loan Program Regulations for Forbearance and Loan Rehabilitation; Correction #Student Financial Aid
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program, Federal Direct PLUS Loan Request for Supplemental Information Comments Due: 8/24/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- Information Collection; Paperwork Reduction Act Changes in FAR Case 2026-001, Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 1, 2, 4, 33, 39, 40, and 53 Comments Due: 8/24/2026 #Procurement
- Information Collection; Paperwork Reduction Act Changes in FAR Case 2026-002, Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation Overhaul Parts 6, 7, 10, 18, 26, 37, and 41 Comments Due: 8/24/2026 #Procurement
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program (Direct Loan Program) Promissory Notes and Related Forms Comments Due: 7/27/2026 #Student Financial Aid
- Nominations Request for the Good Neighbor Environmental Board Nominations Due: 8/10/2026 #Campus
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Extension, Without Change, of a Currently Approved Collection: myE-Verify Program Comments Due: 7/27/2026 #HR
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, as Amended Comments Due: 7/27/2026 #HR
- Notice of Public Comments on Section 133 of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act Comments Due: 7/29/2026 #University Lands
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Foreign Gifts and Contracts Disclosures Comments Due: 7/29/2026 #Foreign Gifts and Contracts
Items of Interest
- Bill to mandate FAFSA anti-fraud system passes House The No Aid for Ghost Students Act would largely codify a system for screening applicants that the U.S. Department of Education launched earlier this year.
- SACSCOC Changes Name The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges is embracing a new name and logo. The Commission on Colleges and Universities.
- House appropriators move to label graduate nursing as professional degree The House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would enable students in those programs to access higher federal borrowing limits.
- Why Students Aren’t All In on AI—And What They Want From Colleges New Student Voice data reveal students are embracing AI as a learning tool while worrying about dependence, career disruption and inconsistent institutional responses.
- Auburn Board Takes Full Curricular Control, Dissolves Faculty Senate The policies mirror the directives laid out in HB 580, which doesn’t take effect until October and doesn’t apply to the institution.
- $50M TRIO Grants? ED Gives States a Leg Up in College Access Program The Trump administration is preferencing state agencies in some grant competitions for the college access program, and past winners could lose out.
- A Play-by-Play on Congress’s Efforts to Regulate College Sports The House has so far failed to pass legislation to stabilize the freewheeling world of college athletics. Will the Senate be any more successful?
- Colleges hit in cyberattack by group behind Canvas breach, Google says The cybercrime group ShinyHunters targeted Oracle’s PeopleSoft software and may have gained access to data at more than 100 organizations, according to a Thursday report.
- House appropriators move to label graduate nursing as professional degree The House Appropriations Committee advanced a bill that would enable students in those programs to access higher federal borrowing limits.
- Education Department to move core civil rights duties to DOJ The U.S. Department of Education announced on Tuesday that it is moving key civil rights investigation and enforcement activities to the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Universities Hiring Student Expression Specialists The new staff members will focus on creating, explaining and enforcing college speech policies following years of escalating campus protest activity.
- Here’s the latest on the Education Department’s interagency agreements The agency now has 14 partnerships it says reduce federal bureaucracy. But critics argue they add confusion as federal oversight is splintered.
- The Solutions to College Completion Challenges Start in K–12 We need to treat college readiness as a system (re)design issue.
- A new site tracks foreign gifts to colleges. Is it misleading? The Trump administration launched a public dashboard to track Section 117 reporting, but policy experts worry it lacks necessary context.
- What Is FAFSA Fraud, and Why Is Congress Working to Stamp It Out? So-called ghost students have been stealing financial aid for at least a decade. Now the Department of Education and Congress are trying to curb the schemes.
- Work-Based Learning: Who Gets Paid? Detailed findings from the 2025 State Opportunity Index
- We Have Never Taught Critical Thinking AI just makes those failures evident.
- Meet the Externs: How Faculty Use Workplace Experience to Help Students Faculty-to-industry bridge programs have been popular for years, but this summer the professor-externs are focused on bringing AI skills and understanding back to their students.
- Judge Tosses ED’s ‘Professional’ Degree Definition, Likely Aiding Student Borrowers The ruling says the Education Department violated Congress’s instructions by adding criteria strictly limiting which degrees qualify for higher federal student loan borrowing caps.
- A new site tracks foreign gifts to colleges. Is it misleading? Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Education launched a dashboard allowing the public to see how much money colleges received from foreign countries. The reporting dashboard shows eye-popping figures.
- Virginia and Ohio join effort to design 3-year bachelor’s degrees While some say such degrees could increase college affordability, two groups blasted them as “stripped-down curriculum that prioritizes speed.”
- How New Federal Earnings Test Could Affect Higher Ed The Education Department finalized the accountability measure Monday evening, ushering in a new era for colleges and universities.
Policy Updates
- The Chemical Hygiene Policy was revised on 6/4/2026 to update verbiage under the purpose section and principal investigator responsibilities.
- The Maintenance and Decommissioning Policy for Laboratory Ventilation Equipment was revised on 6/11/2026 to provide minor updates and additional instruction verbiage to reporting fume hood issues.
- The Generative AI Policy was revised on 6/16/2026 to modify verbiage in the prohibited forms of communication.
- The Pre-Employment and Background Investigation Policy was revised on 6/30/2026 to add strengthening language.
- The Faculty Handbook was revised on 6/30/2026 to update some sections and correct some links in the policy.
- The Child Abuse Reporting Policy and Procedures was revised on 6/30/2026 to update some language.