The Council of Graduate Schools' 2021-2022 Federal Policy Agenda outlines CGS's federal policy principles and priorities impacting graduate education. CGS is committed to working with the 117th Congress and the Biden Administration in a bipartisan manner to advance policies that improve access to graduate education, promote the United States as a global leader, and create a more equitable society for all.

Strengthen Federal Student Loans and Financial Aid

Strengthen federal financial aid programs that allow individuals to access and complete graduate degrees in order to promote a competitive U.S. workforce.

• Policy Brief: Maximizing Pell Grants to Support Graduate Students
• Policy Brief: How Graduate Students Finance Their Education
• Policy Brief: Federal Financial Support for U.S. Graduate Students During COVID-19
• Policy Brief: Accessing Grad Ed: Grad PLUS Direct Loan Program
• NEW Policy Brief: Federal Investment in Grad Ed: Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need

Prime Tax Policies to Support Graduate Education

Promote tax policies that encourage the pursuit of graduate education by providing incentives that increase access and affordability. 

Promote the U.S. through International Graduate Education and Research

Advocate for immigration and visa policies that encourage the exchange of both American and international students.

• Policy Brief: International Graduate Students: Innovators, Researchers, and Entrepreneurs
• Policy Brief: Optional Practical Training
• Policy Brief: DACA and Graduate Education

Advance Research and Innovation

Invest in science and research that is critical to the nation’s ability to remain globally competitive, as well as the benchmark in terms of timely breakthroughs and innovation.

Promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Support federal policies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion both within our graduate programs and the workforce.

Support Graduate Student Success and Wellbeing

Support investments and activities that allow graduate students to fully thrive in their education and research.

For further information on specific Congressional issues or departmental activities, please check the following websites:

Congressional Websites

House of Representatives – www.house.gov; Senate – www.senate.gov

Both sites provide links to individual members, committees and bill status.

Thomas (Library of Congress) site - http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.php

Contains information on bills before Congress, including text, names of sponsors and status.

Department and Agency Websites

White House Office of Science and Technology Policy - http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp

Federal Register - https://www.federalregister.gov/ 

Provides a daily listing of most publications and public notices of federal departments and agencies, including requests for comments on proposed regulations and requests for proposals.

In general, most federal department and agency websites can be accessed by using google and typing in the name of the agency.gov (e.g. nsf.gov)

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CGS developed fact sheets with state-specific data on the scope and impact of graduate education and research in your state. They are downloadable and can be used with policymakers and other stakeholders. Featured data include: enrollments and degrees conferred from CGS's annual Graduate Enrollment and Degrees Report; federal research funding for the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture; projected workforce demands over the next decade; and CGS member institutions by Congressional district. 

Scroll down for a full list, including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The issue of graduate student debt deserves serious attention from policymakers. It is especially important to understand how debt incurred for master’s and doctoral study differs from undergraduate debt or debt for professional degrees such as degrees in law and medicine. This resource page provides information and resources to help various stakeholders understand graduate student debt.

Fact Sheet on Graduate Student Debt

This one-page fact sheet summarizes recent data on graduate student borrowing and debt.

Resources for Deans (log-in required)

Recent CGS Statements and Responses

How to improve financial aid for graduate students

Letter to the editor, Washington Post, June 20, 2014

Letter to Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander

Response to the March 27, 2014 hearing, "Strengthening the Federal Student Loan Program for Borrowers," Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee

Letter to Senator Alexander

Response to June 8, 2014 statement by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee

Testimony submitted by CGS for June 24, 2014 hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance

Information on graduate student finances, tuition remissions and waivers, student loan interest deductibiilty, and the Lifetime Learning Credit. Submitted for the Senate Committee on Finances' hearing, "Less Student Debt from the Start: What Role should the Tax System Play?”

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by Congress in 2017, made significant changes to the U.S. tax code. CGS continues to have concerns about the law’s adverse impact on institutions of higher education due to the broader changes to endowments, charitable contributions and state and local tax deductions, for example. However, tax code provisions that directly affect the ability of graduate students to pursue master’s and doctoral education, and which were considered seriously for elimination, were protected in the final agreement.

Tax policies should encourage, not discourage, the pursuit of master’s and doctoral education because advanced knowledge and skills have become the threshold requirement for many fast-growing and high-demand fields and careers. Additionally, master’s degrees are required to qualify for licensure in many critical healthcare, education, and service occupations. The U.S. cannot afford to discourage talented individuals from pursuing graduate education if we are to remain competitive in a global economy. All students, especially those from diverse economic and demographic backgrounds must have access to high quality, affordable master’s and doctoral education.

To achieve that goal, CGS recommends the following principles:

Make permanent the above the line deduction for qualified education expenses related to tuition and fees.

Improve employer provided tax-exempt educational assistance under the Internal Revenue Code Section 127, by including student loan repayment assistance and increasing the annual limit of $5,250.

Provide tax credit incentives for low- and moderate-income individuals to contribute to 529 education savings accounts, including employer tax credits when they match the contributions.

Retain benefits in the tax code that support the ability of graduate students to finance their education such as Student Loan Interest Deduction (SLID); section 117(d)(5), which excludes tuition waivers and remissions from being included as taxable income; and Lifetime Learning Credit.

OVERVIEW

This document is a summary of select items in the President’s 2015 Budget Request. It indicates how those resources would be impact graduate education, research and graduate students. Overall, the President’s budget proposes $3.9 trillion in total outlays. In 2010, mandatory spending made up 55 percent of the total budget. That figure has grown to 63 percent and is expected to continue to do so. The expected deficit is $564 billion. The discretionary spending budget cap matches the $1.014 trillion cap recently agreed to by Congress.

With respect to Federal R&D, the President’s 2015 Budget proposes $135.4 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion (1.2%) from 2014. Defense R&D is increased by 1.7% ($1.19 B) and nondefense R&D is increased by 0.7% ($477 M). Overall, basic research is reduced by $331 million (-1.0%) and applied research increased by $582 million (1.8%). Within the total however, funding for basic research is decreased by $331 million to $32 billion, while funding for applied research increases by $582 million to $32.6 billion.

However, the President’s budget contains additional discretionary spending of $56 billion above the cap through the “Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative”, to be split between defense and nondefense. This initiative would require Congress to raise the current cap and agree to the proposals in the President’s budget that would fully fund it (other cuts in spending and tax increase on the wealthy). The budget request House appropriators have already stated that they are not willing to raise the cap, and Senate Republicans in a hearing on the budget, questioned the inclusion of this initiative, which makes it very unlikely that this additional discretionary spending will be made available for 2015. If agreement could be reached and these resources become available, it would be a source of funding to support some of the recommendations contained in the CGS issue briefs on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act and America COMPETES, and Immigration Reform.

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) 2015 budget provides $30.4 billion, which is an increase of $211 million or 0.7 percent over the 2014 funding level, $100 million of which is to support the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. After accounting for inflation, this increase is really a cut of about 1 percent. Over half of NIH’s budget will be for Research Project Grants to finance 34,197 competitive, peer-reviewed, and largely investigator-initiated projects, an increase of 329 grants over FY 2014 levels, which includes 9,326 new and competing awards. In 2015, about 83 percent of NIH’s funding will go to the extramural community which supports work by more than 300,000 research personnel at over 2,500 organizations, including universities, medical schools, hospitals and other research facilities.

NIH plans to increase its emphasis on research innovation by increasing its investment in High-Risk, High-Reward projects to $100 million. The agency will also continue to implement a series of steps to enhance its efforts to recruit and advance the careers of people traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral research workforce. A total of $767 million (approximately $9 million less than the 2014 budget request) will support the training of 15,715 (about 400 fewer than the 2014 budget request) of the next generation of research scientists through the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards program.

More information on the NIH budget is available in pdf format at:
http://officeofbudget.od.nih.gov/pdfs/FY15/FY2015_Overview.pdf.

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF)

For the National Science Foundation (NSF) the budget provides $7.255 billion, an increase of $83.08 million or 1.2 percent increase over FY 2014.NSF funds approximately 24 percent of all federally supported fundamental research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. Overall, Research and Related Activities (RRA) is reduced by 0.03 percent, Education and Human Resources (EHR) is increased by 5.1 percent and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction is increased by 0.4 percent. Within the 2015 budget request, the number of people involved in EHR activities is projected to be 140,900, 12,300 of which are graduate students, 300 are postdoctorates, and 6,700 are researchers. Close to 110,000 are K-12 teachers and students.

Graduate education program funding levels of interest within EHR include:

• For Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFs) the President’s budget request allots $166.72 million to Education and Human Resources (EHR) which will provide 2,000 new awards, a cost of education allowance of $12,000 and a stipend increase of @2,000 to $34,000.
• For the second year of NSF Research Traineeships there is $28.3 million. NRT investments aim to advance research on priority themes as well as develop and conduct research on new approaches and models for educating the next generation of scientists and engineers. NRT funding also includes $7.0 million for a new track within NRT, supporting Innovation in Graduate Education (IGE). IGE will invite proposals for model design, innovation, and research in graduate education student training and professional development. IGE will not support trainees directly, however it will allow institutions that have traineeship programs, or that offer other types if support for graduate students, to serve as testbeds. IGE is an effort that parallels recommendations made by the Commission on Pathways in the Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers report¹.

This request also includes $20.32 million for continuing grant increments for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT), which transitioned to NRT in FY 2014.

• The Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) is level funded at the FY 2014 level.
• STEM Professional Workforce Preparation is increased by $1 million. The program will expand the knowledge base to improve STEM professional workforce development (at all educational levels) through development of models, research, and evaluation, and allow translation of the results of this research for adoption and/or adaptation in workforce and education programs. The Excellence Awards in Science and Engineering (EASE) includes up to $500,000 to initiate a new STEM Teacher Leader Corps activity in collaboration with the NOYCE program in the Division of Undergraduate Education.

More information about the NSF budget request is available at:
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=130728

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY (DoE)

The DoE budget request is $27.9 (2.6 percent increase over 2014), with $5.111 billion for the Office of Science (SC), an increase of 0.9 percent over 2014 enacted levels. The budget request assumes a reorganization of the Department into three Under Secretaries – Science and energy, Nuclear Security and Management and Performance. As the largest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences, DOE’s SC supports 22,000 researchers at 17 National Laboratories and more than 300 universities. The budget request provides $1.8 billion for basic energy sciences activities, $744 million for high energy physics, $628 million for biological and environmental research, $594 million for nuclear physics research, $541 million for advanced scientific computing research, and $416 million for fusion energy sciences. There is continued support for the energy Frontier Research Centers that involves over 600 researchers from multiple institutions. These centers have produced 3,400 peer-reviewed publications, 60 invention disclosures, 200 patents, and numerous instances of technology transfer in just three years. In the Fossil Energy Program there is a special recruitment program, the Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program, to provide students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines with the opportunity to enhance their education and knowledge of fossil fuels. The goal of the program is to support an increase in the number of females and underrepresented minorities entering the scientific and engineering career fields in the U.S. workforce.

More information is available at:
http://www.energy.gov/cfo/downloads/fy-2015-budget-justification.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNNOLOGY (NIST)

Under the president’s FY 15 budget proposal, NIST would receive $900 million, a $50 million increase over the 2014 enacted levels to expand and strengthen programs in a number of key areas such as forensic science, lightweight vehicle alloys and bioengineering measurement tools. Of the $900 million, $680 million is designated for Scientific and Technical Research and Services; $161 million is for Industrial Technology Services; and $59 million is for Construction of Research Facilities. Six million dollars is included for NIST to accelerate and expand technology transfer across the federal government, which will enhance the competitiveness of U.S. industry by sharing innovations and knowledge from federal labs.

For more information on the NIST budget request check:
http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (ED)

The President’s Budget Request is $68.6 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Education overall, which is an increase of $1.3 billion, or 1.9 percent, more than the 2014 level. With respect to higher education, the President’s budget proposal calls for making college more affordable and helping borrowers manage their student loan debt. However, most of the emphasis in the ED higher education budget request continues to be on undergraduate education.

The Pell Grant maximum is increased by $100 to $5,830. Other aid programs in the Department, such as Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work Study, will continue to receive current level funding. There are two new proposals in the Department’s budget: a $4 billion state matching grant for graduating students from low-income backgrounds, and an $8 billion initiative to reward colleges that successfully enroll and graduate a significant number of low- to moderate-income students on time. In this political climate, neither proposal has much chance of being enacted. The budget request also provides $10 million for the development of a national college ratings system.

For student loans, the budget calls for an expansion of the “Pay as You Earn” (PAYE) income-based repayment program to all student borrowers, including graduate students, regardless of when they took out their loans. It caps monthly payments at 10 percent of the borrower’s discretionary income and forgives the remaining balances after 20 years of payments. However, according to the budget documents, the Administration is proposing to trim some of the benefits that high-income, high-debt borrowers receive under this program. Additionally, the budget proposal would require borrowers with more than $57,500 in debt to make payments for 25 years before it would be forgiven. The amount of debt forgiven for public-sector workers would be limited to $57,500 as a way to prevent institutional practices that may further increase student indebtedness. Pay as You Earn is currently seen as a windfall for students at expensive professional schools who incur high debt but also get high-paying jobs that allow them to repay their debt.

The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program is level-funded at $29.3 million, of which 8 percent would be used to make 126 new awards and the remainder to fund continuing GAANN awards. Separate funding for the GAANN and Javits programs was eliminated in the 2012 appropriations measure, subsequent to the programs being combined in the President’s 2012 budget request. Continuation funds for Javits in 2012 and 2013 were made through the GAANN program. However, 2014 is the final year of Javits continuations.

The McNair Post Baccalaureate Achievement Program receives no proposed increase over the 2014 level of $35.7 million. The International Education and Foreign languages Studies programs receive an increase of $4 million (6 percent over 2014) is to support new awards to help American students develop proficiency in critical foreign languages, specifically those spoken in the Asia-Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa regions, and new institutional mobility grants in Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

More information can be accessed at:
http://www.ed.gov/budget15?src=feature

OPPORTUNITY, GROWTH, AND SECURITY INITIATIVE (OGSI)

The Budget includes a separate $56 billion Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative (OGSI). The Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative, which will be split evenly between defense and non-defense funding, demonstrates how additional discretionary investments in 2015 can spur economic progress, promote opportunity, and strengthen national security.

For NIH, this fund would provide $970 million to increase the number of new grants funded and provide additional resources for activities such as the BRAIN Initiative and other innovative projects.

For NSF, this fund would provide an additional $552.0 million. At NSF this initiative would add to progress in many areas including clean energy, cognitive science and neuroscience, cyber-enabled smart systems, graduate education, and secure cyberspace. It is expected to support 1,000 additional research grants and add $34 million to support up to 3,000 graduate traineeships.

At DOE, OGSI provides funds to accelerate investment in key infrastructure and activities, in addition to the $27.9 billion requested by the base budget. OGSI would accelerate research and the development and deployment of new, high impact clean energy technologies by providing an additional $484 million for activities leading to innovative materials, processes, and system designs; validation of new technologies; and increased federal energy cost savings. In support of the President’s goal to double U.S. energy productivity by 2030, OGSI includes $200 million for Race to the Top performance-based awards to support state governments that implement effective policies to cut energy waste and modernize the grid.

For NIST, $115 million is included in OGSI to strengthen its research and development capabilities and facilities by accelerating advances in top research priorities including advanced manufacturing, forensics, and cybersecurity and disaster resilience. An additional $2.4 billion is included to support the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation.

At the Department of Education OGSI would support investments of $250 million for Preschool Development Grants, $300 million for the ConnectEDucators initiative, and $200 million for Promise Neighborhoods. None of the additional funding would be used for graduate education programs.

¹Council of Graduate Schools and Educational Testing Service. (2012). Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers. Report from the Commission on Pathways Through Graduate School and Into Careers. Princeton, NJ: Educational Testing Service.

The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA) provides critical federal support for STEM education and innovation, allowing the U.S. to continue producing the highly skilled professionals needed to fuel innovation and conduct top-level basic science research. Additionally, the 21st Century Cures Act promotes and funds the acceleration of research into preventing and curing serious illnesses; accelerates drug and medical device development; attempts to address the opioid abuse crisis; and tries to improve mental health service delivery. Although certain important goals were achieved in these laws, CGS recommends consideration of the following principles for future science-related policies:

Promote and support programs that provide master’s and doctoral students with the innovative skills they need to successfully fulfill a wide variety of career paths in a competitive global economy.

• Use data on near- mid- and longer-term career outcomes of graduate degree holders to improve and reform master’s and doctoral programs.
• Encourage a broad range of professional development activities in master’s and doctoral level STEM education programs, including internships for graduate research assistants, project management experiences and using effective oral and written communication skills.
• Support research traineeship programs that build upon the successes of the NSF Research Traineeship program (NRT) and NIH programs such as postdoctoral training, individual fellowships, and research training career development.
• Maintain a robust NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) to foster a more diverse STEM workforce.
• Provide incentives for students to pursue doctoral studies in areas of national need.
• Award grants for entrepreneurship and commercialization to NSF-funded graduate researchers and postdoctoral fellows.
• Encourage innovations in master’s programs that align with economic and workforce demands.
• Support international research experiences for U.S. STEM graduate students.
• Give priority to proposals involving collaborations between private sector and non-profit employers with universities to support graduate students and their career goals.

Reinforce the mission and purpose of NSF to improve science, engineering and math education by enhancing public scientific literacy that supports our scientific talent base at all levels.

• Strengthen the pipeline of next-generation scientists and engineers, including future faculty, for continued U.S. scientific, technological and economic global leadership.

Dear Members of the 113th Congress:

As you return for the second session of the 113th Congress, you will be considering a number of issues that are key to the future of American job growth, innovation and productivity. To meet these priorities, the U.S. will need to recognize the critical role of graduate education in producing the highly skilled individuals that fuel innovation and top-level research activities. The U.S. cannot afford to lose its place as a producer of, and magnet for, top talent in today's global economy, especially as many countries compete to attract master's and doctoral degree holders.

The Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) represents over 500 universities and is the only national organization dedicated solely to the advancement of graduate education and research. CGS member institutions award more than 92 percent of all U.S. doctorates and nearly 80 percent of all U.S. master's degrees. The nation's graduate schools are the epicenters of discovery, innovation, and application, leading to advancements that affect every American. Every day graduate school faculty and students are conducting leading-edge research, creating and sharing knowledge, and teaching the next generation of our leaders, scholars, scientists, and professionals.

Among the many issues that may receive congressional consideration this year are the reauthorizations of the Higher Education Act (HEA) and America COMPETES, along with immigration reform. Each of these has implications for graduate students and graduate education. I urge you to consider the following issues:

• With respect to federal student loans, talented Americans must not be disadvantaged for pursuing graduate study. Because of recent congressional actions, graduate students are paying more for their student loans, a disparity that has been particularly hard-hitting for underrepresented minorities and master's degree students.
• With respect to America COMPETES, graduate students at all levels need broader career options and pathways to jobs in government, non-profit organizations and businesses. Six recent reports on graduate education reform support this goal and form the basis for suggested changes to the Twenty-First Century Graduate Education section in current law.
• Immigration reform is critical to ensuring that the U.S. can continue to attract top talent. Our economy would greatly benefit from allowing international students who have received advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to earn green cards and work in jobs related to their fields of study.

Please take into account the needs of those obtaining master's degrees and doctoral degrees and the programs that support them as you work on legislation this year. Our research, data and best practices reports can be a resource for you as issues related to graduate education and research are considered over the coming months.

I would welcome an opportunity to discuss these and other issues affecting graduate education with you and your staff. Please do not hesitate to contact us at (202) 223-3791, we look forward to working with you on these important issues.

Sincerely,

Debra W. Stewart