By Sophia Harris Editor-in-Chief President Nancy Niemi discussed potential changes in higher education due to the election, including rollbacks in DEI efforts and Title IX as well as financial aid jeopardy at the All University Meeting on Nov. 19. “There could be a lot of work ahead again for the changes in Title IX, with regard to transgender rights and due process rights,” Niemi said. She added, “We are in a protected state in some regards and I don't know how many times you might have thought, ‘It's a good thing we're living in Massachusetts,’ but that doesn't mean we can rest. I think we need to be cautious.” Kim Dexter, assistant vice president of human resources and equal opportunity, said the timeline for changing Title IX regulations can typically be about four years, “so maybe two years into an administration, we might see the review and comment process. … But then there's a lot of time that that gets revised, and then new regulations are implemented.” Dexter said, “But for now, we have adopted the 2024 regulations.” To provide education about the regulations, Dexter said hopefully, training will be launched in the next couple of weeks “to help folks understand what the current responsibilities, obligations, and policies are.” Niemi also touched on the change in financial assistance for students in higher education. “Financial aid, work-study, Upward Bound, Pell expansion, any of those things could be in jeopardy, as well as low-debt relief,” she said. “I think it's important that every time we think, ‘Oh, it can't happen to us.’ I think it could. I think everything we're thinking about could, in some regard. So I don't think it's wise to dismiss anything,” Niemi added. She said undocumented students as well as international students could also be threatened under the new administration. Niemi said she is relieved that FSU does “not ask who our undocumented students are. So if we are asked, we can rightly say, ‘We don't know. We can't give you any names’ because we don't know who they are, and I believe that's common throughout Massachusetts.” She added some universities are already telling their students abroad, “‘Make sure you're home before Jan. 20.’” Niemi said she does not believe the Department of Education will be completely dismantled but “that doesn't mean it couldn't be weakened.” She said, “We need to keep focusing on our mission. That doesn't change and nothing about the change in Washington can take us away from that. That reassures me when I think about what can be coming down the pike, and I hope that at least it gives you some comfort to know that you're with people in a University, in a community, in a state, who fully believe, as we have, that the jobs that we are doing are focused on public good and changing for the better through equity and all the work we've been discussing.” Niemi said on Sept. 27, FSU's accreditation for the next 10 years was approved. She said some of the steps the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) asked FSU to undertake are to submit a two-year update on strategic plans, enrollment, and finances; evaluate academic programs, including international and distance education; improve the data management system; demonstrate that FSU is providing appropriate support services to ensure the success of its increasingly diverse student population; and to submit an interim (fifth-year) report in 2029. She said, “The next time we will have this meeting will be in 2034, which feels like it's light years away, but they want to hear from us between now and then.” Niemi said the Board of Higher Education approved the strategic plan for the next five years “unanimously, which was wonderful,” on Oct. 22. The immediate strategic priorities for 2024-25 are to adapt and adopt programs to meet the evolving needs of students; create a strategic framework to coordinate, track, and assess DEl initiatives across campus; implement services and pedagogical practices to improve student enrollment, retention, and persistence; diversify, fortify, and invest in strategic priorities for the future; and intentionally grow university-community relationships. She said the University will be looking at a holistic approach to both the strategic plan and NECHE priorities because most of the goals overlap. Professor of Chemistry and Food Science Sarah Pilkenton asked how FSU plans to be competitive financially against free community colleges as well as the UMass system, stating that any student who comes from a family with an income under $75,000 a year will be offered free tuition and fees. Niemi said, “If we are just talking tuition and fees at about that income level, we come close to being free or free as well, depending on whether or not you qualify for Pell.” Iris Godes, vice president of enrollment management, said for a student to qualify for MASSGrant plus and MASSGrant plus expansion, their family's income has to be below $85,000, and University tuition and fees would be free of cost. She added, “However, that is not the regulation. You have to be eligible for a Pell Grant. We have at least 100 students here with incomes below $85,000 who do not qualify for a Pell Grant. Therefore, they do not qualify for MASSGrant Plus, and free tuition and fees.” Godes said this caveat can be confusing for students when choosing to attend a university. Godes added all of the state universities are struggling with this, but she and Robert Totino, vice president of finance, technology, and administration and chief financial officer, are “looking at a lot of data right now to see where the institutional funding is going and how much we can actually offer our students. So this is taking quite a bit of work.”