Accreditation; Language and Being Human; USDA
BUZZ BITS….
- Last Friday, President Donald J. Trump signed into law the spending bills that fund research activities at the National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Department of Energy, and National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities for fiscal year 2026. The new law rejects the Trump Administration’s proposed spending cuts for these agencies, maintaining their budgets at a similar level to last year.
- The Department of Education (ED) announced this week that it has initiated the process to update the federal rules governing higher education accreditation through a negotiated rulemaking that will include an opportunity for public comment. ED’s goals are to “simplify the Secretary’s recognition of emerging and existing accreditors; examine the extent to which accreditation contributes to rising higher education costs and credential inflation; safeguard against undue influence from related private trade associations; [and] eliminate standards or policies that discriminate on the basis of immutable characteristics.”
- ED is inviting public comment on a proposal to restrict federal student aid options for certain degree programs following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which set maximum loan limits at $20,500 a year for graduate students and $50,000 a year for professional students. The proposal includes a new and narrow definition of “professional degree” program that only covers 11 fields of study. Comments are due within 30 days.
EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE
On Wednesday, February 11th, the Office of Research will convene “Research on Tap: On Language and Being Human” at 4:00pm in the Kilachand Center Colloquium Room. The event, co-hosted by Wheelock College of Education & Human Development Professors Naomi Caselli and Christina Dobbs, will bring together BU faculty from across the university to explore how language influences how we communicate, learn, connect, advocate, and find meaning. “Research on Tap” events feature 10-12 BU scholars presenting a maximum of four slides and delivering a four-minute “elevator pitch” of their work, followed by refreshments and lively discussion that enable investigators to meet potential research collaborators.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) recently released the annual AFRI Education and Workforce Development (EWD) program solicitation. The program supports training opportunities for all levels of students and educators, from K-12 to postdoctoral scholars. A new Program Area Priority called the “Education and Workforce Development Workshop Grants” is available this year. It provides funding for applicants to host workshops that grow agricultural literacy, train agricultural workers, develop pathways for experiential learning, and advance career development for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Applicants across all Program Area Priorities are encouraged to develop projects that integrate foundational knowledge and skills in artificial intelligence.