Global: New Legislation Restores Carveout Allowing Use of Agents in Foreign-Student Recruitment

The legislative fix adds back in language that brings the Thrive Act in line with the Higher Education Act. ADVERTISEMENT [Academe Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. First Thought Insights drawn weekly from Karin Fischer’s global-education newsletter, latitude(s). [Subscribe here](. The U.S. House has passed [legislation]( that, among other provisions, would make fixes to a veterans-training bill that appeared to bar incentive-based compensation in international-student recruitment. The veterans bill, known as the Thrive Act, did not include an exemption for overseas recruitment from a broader ban on the payment of commissions in student recruitment. The lack of an exemption seems to have been an inadvertent oversight by lawmakers, but it thrust the use of agents, which has become more common in recent years, into an [unexpected gray area](. Under the Thrive Act, which took effect over the summer, colleges that use agents run the risk of jeopardizing their GI Bill funds. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs issued [internal policy guidance]( that appeared to confirm it was interpreting the new law to mean that Congress intended to prohibit incentive compensation for international students. Higher-education groups have pressed to amend the Thrive Act, saying that action was needed to bring clarity to overseas recruitment. Federal student-aid law bans the payment of commissions domestically but has long included a carveout permitting the practice for the recruitment of “foreign students residing in foreign countries who are not eligible to receive federal assistance.” The legislative fix adds back in that language, bringing the Thrive Act in line with the Higher Education Act. [Read more from Karin in this week’s latitude(s).]( ADVERTISEMENT The Reading List - Texas A&M University has proposed a [sweeping reorganization]( of the liberal-arts and sciences faculty at its campus in Qatar. - The University of Akron is the latest U.S. college to say it will [shut down its Confucius Institute]( another closure related to legislation that restricts U.S. Defense Department grants to institutions with the Chinese-funded language and culture centers. - The Biden administration is urging an appeals court to [restore DACA]( after a Texas judge [barred new applicants]( from the program that protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation. Featured on Chronicle.com “It was almost giving me flashbacks to last year. I was just thinking, Where do we go from here? Is anything going to change for next semester?” —Melissa Montejo, a junior at Cornell University, which moved finals online and canceled in-person activities, nearly shutting down the campus, after a surge in active Covid cases. At Cornell, the alert level was green just last week, indicating very little risk of transmission. On Monday, it was red, with 469 active cases on campus; by Tuesday evening, that number was 903. Read more in The Chronicle: “[‘Tip of the Spear’: As New Variant Spreads, One Campus All But Shuts Down Amid Covid Surge]( Note: The Global newsletter will be taking a break for the rest of December. It’ll be back in your inbox in the New Year. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to essential news, analysis, and advice. TURMOIL IN NEW YORK [He Was Cuomo’s Guy. It Made Him a Chancellor — and Took Him Down.]( By Jack Stripling [STORY IMAGE]( Once buoyed by his ties to the powerful New York governor, Jim Malatras’s embrace of brass-knuckle politics undid his SUNY chancellorship. SPONSOR CONTENT | Texas Christian University [Learn how higher education can lead the way for improved police-community relationships.]( 'ALWAYS AN EDUCATOR' [The Reinvention of Rebecca Chopp]( By Megan Zahneis [STORY IMAGE]( She built a life around a profession that prizes the mind. Then she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. ADVERTISEMENT SPONSOR CONTENT | university of florida [AI Across the Curriculum]( Leading the way in AI research and development in higher education, learn how University of Florida is infusing technology to advance learning and accelerate research across academic disciplines. JOB OPPORTUNITIES Apply for the top jobs in higher education and [search all our open positions](. NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( | [It was ok]( | [Loved it]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2021 [The Chronicle of Higher Education]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037