Last weekend on Oct 24th, 2026, our chapter leaders led the 3rd New York State Regional Governance Summit. This summit is the result of an organic grassroots movement that was started by the Faculty Assembly Chair of St. John Fisher and the Faculty Senate Chair of RIT in 2024.
As faculty leaders, it is incredibly difficult to navigate the dynamics of shared governance without some external perspective. Thus, the Governance Summit brings together faculty leaders from across NY State to discuss the matters affecting us the most.
This year, a key topic of discussion was the Big “Beautiful” Bill and how it will impact future students and their families.
Key outcomes worth keeping folks aware of: https://www.nasfaa.org/uploads/documents/OB3_Leadership_Brief_Pell.pdf
Pell: Cost of Attendance, Student Aid Index (SAI), status (FT or PT) & A family’s Adjusted Gross Income
SAI: student + parental/spousal income MINUS “the minimum amount for ‘normal’ annual living expenses.”
NOTE: I could not find a definition for “normal” by the DOE
1) First-dollar to Last-dollar:
- FD: pays tuition and lets students keep the balance for other educational and living expenses
- LD: waits until institutional aid is exhausted THEN steps in to assist with tuition
2) Revisions to the SAI: “foreign income” now calculated when determining eligibility
- Potential for harm towards international students
- If your SAI is 2x the maximum Pell award of $14,790 = ineligible for Pell
You can draw more information from this link: https://www.nasfaa.org/ob3
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