Administration: Accreditors Have Flexibility
BU IN DC
Kate Mellouk of Research Compliance spoke at a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine meeting about strengthening the disaster resilience of academic research communities on April 25.
Timothy Longman of the African Studies Center participated in meetings at the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State on April 27.
Correction: In last week’s edition, student Clarke Gasper‘s program of study was misidentified; he is enrolled in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. We apologize for the error.
ADMINISTRATION: ACCREDITORS HAVE FLEXIBILITY
On April 22, the U.S. Department of Education issued a Dear Colleague letter to accrediting agencies clarifying their ability to differentiate how they review different universities based on their track record in providing high-quality education. For example, an institution with a proven history of demonstrating student learning and outstanding post-graduation outcomes could receive less scrutiny, or less frequent review, from its accreditor than an institution with a poor record. The Department’s guidance is intended to reduce the burden on high-performing universities, while focusing accreditors’ attention on schools that are not serving students well.
Read the letter
BUZZ BITS…
- The National Cancer Institute is soliciting input on its National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. Comments are due by July 1.
- The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected Dr. Matthew Gillman of Harvard University as the director of its Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. ECHO launched last year in response to a Congressional mandate to create a longitudinal children’s health study to replace the National Children’s Study, which ended in 2014.
- Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), the senior Democrat on the spending subcommittee which oversees the National Science Foundation budget, was defeated in a Democratic primary on Tuesday. Fattah, a passionate advocate for neuroscience research, will not return to Congress next year.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) released a Broad Agency Announcement for its Basic Research Challenge (BRC) last week. ONR is looking to fund high-risk basic research projects in multidisciplinary and departmental collaborative efforts not currently addressed by the agency. Topics range from Decentralized Perception in Data-Rich Dynamic Environments to Establishing a Multiscale Theory for Cavitation in Complex Soft Materials. ONR anticipates awarding $42 million to BRC projects; the duration, funding amount, and number of awards will vary by topic. White papers are due by June 3.