National Association of Graduate-Professional Students June 2011 Newsletter窶天olume 24, Number 4
The Postgraduate Voice
NAGPS Members & Friends: It’s hard to believe that we’re almost half way through the summer. Before we know it, we’ll be headed back to campus to begin the Fall semester (or quarter) and welcome a new group of graduate and professional students to our institutions. I hope that your Spring and Summer have been enjoyable and productive, and that your preparations for the Fall are progressing well. As an organization, NAGPS has been very productive since we last met in Boston. Here are some highlights of our accomplishments since January: • Legislative Action Events in the Spring and Summer resulting in more than 75 lobbying visits • Regional Conferences were held in all five regions in March and April, and attracted almost 200 attendees in total • In April, we promoted our annual Graduate Professional Student Appreciation Week, which was celebrated or recognized on more than 40 campuses and recognized with proclamations by state and local govts. While our programming has been very well attended and organized, we’ve also made significant progress in terms of membership. We’ve added 13 organizational members since last Fall’s National Conference, are in discussions with additional institutions that will be joining between now and October, and are working with one member school to convert their membership to a Legacy Membership. NAGPS now stands at 62 organizational members that represent more than 350,000 graduate and professional students throughout the country. Indeed, our organization is strong, but we continue to work to recruit additional members to grow the association. One way of recruiting new members is to increase the value of NAGPS membership – a key initiative that we’ve been working on throughout the year. We’ve added discounted (or free) Student Advantage membership as one of the many NAGPS benefits, and continue to work on adding other discounts or free services as membership benefits. Additionally, we’ve worked to decrease the barriers to entry for membership into the association through two mechanisms. We’ve revived the Developing Member status for institutions that are currently developing their graduate professional student organization, and have received interest from some of these institutions in joining NAGPS. For existing members, we’ve started a program to allow your GPSO to earn NAGPS credits toward membership dues and registration fees by having your student use a specific link for their
purchases on Amazon. Like the Developing Member initiative, we’ve received interest from a number of GPSOs since starting this program, which was announced at the regional conferences. Finally, we realize that the strength of the association is a function of the strength of the regional organizations. I’m pleased to report that we have five committed and responsive individuals currently serving as regional chairs for NAGPS, and that all five regions have begun building and strengthening the regional Board structure to better serve NAGPS. We have put significant resources into the regional organizations this year, and I believe that this effort is beginning to pay off. I realize that this is a lot to put into a single update, and I’m glad that I had the opportunity to talk to many of you in person at our regional conferences this Spring to deliver most of this information. While the progress we’ve made thus far is notable, please know that we continue to work on the issues that affect graduate and professional students and that we are always open to feedback from the membership. It’s only with your ideas and talents that we can move forward as a group, and I encourage you to contact any of the Board members with your feedback. e activity and progress reported above has been facilitated by a wonderful Board of Directors that I’ve had the privilege to serve with since January 1. As I pointed out at many of the regional conferences, the NAGPS Board is composed of graduate and professional students that volunteer their time to advance the interests of other graduate and professional students. I wanted to take a moment to publicly thank the Board for their incredible efforts throughout the first six months of our term, and to ask you to consider serving NAGPS in the future. Whether you serve as a Board member, a volunteer, or a conference host, this organization depends on all of us to move forward. In the coming months, you’ll see more newsletters, more Annunciator e-mail messages, and a physical mailing all detailing NAGPS’ upcoming events. From the Fall Legislative Action Days, to the National Conference, the Fall promises to be an exciting time to be involved with NAGPS! I hope that you will take advantage of all that NAGPS has to offer through these events as well as other resources. If you ever have questions or need additional information, please don’t hesitate to contact me (president@nagps.org) any of the Board members. Good luck with your preparations for the Fall, and enjoy the rest of the Summer! See you in Boulder, Jon
Legislative Action Update Six months in and 2011 has proven itself to be an important year for graduate-professional student legislative policy. NAGPS kicked o the 112th Congressional session with a successful trip to Washington, D.C. from February 27th - March 1st, 2011 for the Spring Legislative Action Days (LAD). Twenty-five student advocates from 10 schools spent two busy days attending over 75 meetings with their Representatives and Senators.
Tanya Rae Phillips and Steven Koenig of the University of Colorado Boulder with Representative Jared Polis (CO-2)
Attendees • • • • • • • • • •
Carnegie Mellon University Columbia Massachusetts Institute of Technology Oklahoma State University e Ohio State University University of California, Davis University of California, San Diego University of Colorado Boulder University of Mississippi University of North Texas
Our Current Work Following Spring LAD, the NAGPS Legislative Concerns Committee has been tracking the issues and encouraging students to take action by writing Congress. To date, the biggest issue facing graduate-professional students in 2011 has been the proposed elimination of the in-school interest subsidy on federally-backed Stafford loans. NAGPS has been working with the Council of Graduate Schools, the Association of American Universities, and Student Advocates for Graduate Education to inform Congress and policy-makers how the elimination of the interest subsidy will affect graduate-professional education. We continue to encourage students to contact their U.S. Senators (http:// www.viethconsulting.com/action.php?orgcode=NGPS&id=76665).
Future Legislative Action Days If you are interested in participating in future lobbying trips, don’t see your own state colored on our LAD visit map, have questions about our platform, or just want more information contact our Legislative Concerns Chair: lcc@nagps.org.
Legislative Action Center Now on nagps.org visit our Legislative Action Center, a website that gives a high level overview to our lobbying and policy platform. A place where graduate and professional students come together to enhance our well-being, improve student life, and support favorable educational laws and policies.
nagps.org/policy/ legislative-action-center
You have plans for your future. Our plans can help you get there. Protect your future with the student injury and sickness insurance plan for NAGPS members that offers choices to fit your needs and your budget. To help you stay on track, unique value-added services are included at no additional cost: ■ UnitedHealth Allies® discount program – Although not insurance, you can enjoy up to 50% savings for a variety of health care services and products, such as dental, vision and wellness care! ■ Collegiate Assistance Program (CAP) – Before stressful situations become unmanageable, our 24/7 toll free access to Registered Nurses and Student Assistance Specialists can help with health, personal, work or financial questions and concerns, so you can focus on school. Many schools require you to have health insurance. The student injury and sickness insurance offered through NAGPS may satisfy that requirement, while protecting your plans for a rewarding future. If you enroll, your dependents are eligible for coverage, too.
Learn more about the plan and enroll online at http://uhc.nagps.org Questions? Call us at 800-767-0700 This plan is underwritten by UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company and (in New York) UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York and is based on Policy #2010-485-1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9. Benefits may vary by state and are not available in New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Vermont and Washington. For a full description of coverage, including costs, benefits, exclusions, any reductions or limitations and terms under which the policy may be continued in force, log on to www.UHCSR.com/NAGPS. 11COL1987
Legislative Action Days Spring 2012 Issues Clery Act e majority (63%) of U.S. higher education institutions are not in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). NAGPS encourages universities to comply with the act so that we can better understand incidents on college campuses and we support legislation that continues to make our campuses safer. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-CleryAct.pdf
Graduate-Professional Student Loans As graduate and professional students have seen a steady rise with more loans at higher rates over the past decades, we continue to urge our elected officials to support legislation that relieves the debt burden faced by graduate and professional students. rough interest subsidies, federal loan assistance, and repayment and forgiveness programs we believe graduate and professional students can be better supported in affording higher education. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-Loans.pdf
STEM Education and Funding Scientific research and development (R&D) is the fuel for the American innovation engine. Long-term innovation and economic development in the United States depend on a strong STEM training pipeline. NAGPS supports funding increases for federal science agencies and STEM education for FY2012 and beyond. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-FY12Funding.pdf
H-1B Visa and Green Card Reform NAGPS supports the elimination of Green Card and H-1B visa caps for advanced-degree holders educated in the U.S. in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Visa caps have been reached every year since 2004 and Green Cards often take decades to receive. is situation harms America’s ability to innovate in science and engineering and harms our economy. We support the exemption of U.S. Educated STEM advanced-degree graduates from H-1B Visa and Green Card caps. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-H1B.pdf
Higher Education and Affordability e current tax code places a significant financial burden on graduate and professional students whose fellowship packages do not take into account the net loss from the taxable portion of income. NAGPS supports legislation that reduces the debt burden on graduate students. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-Affordability.pdf
Open Access to Federally Funded Research NAGPS has been actively working to ensure the products from publiclyfunded research are available to the public by supporting legislation that extends the current NIH policy to all government agencies with significant extramural research expenditures. is effort will benefit academics through wider-reach of their work, benefit educators, students, and small businesses by allowing them access to material that is currently subscriber-only, and will allow taxpayers to openly review how and where their money is spent. Read more: nagps.org/files/Spring2011LAD-OpenAccess.pdf
NAGPS Lobbying Training î “e National Association of Graduate-Professional Students Legislative Concerns Committee is now providing video access to it’s lobbying training sessions hosted by with Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC).
YOU COULD SAVE 1-800-368-2734 NAGPS members could get an additional discount on car insurance. http://geico.nagps.org See how much you could save on homeowners and renters insurance, too.
Motorcycle and ATV coverages are underwritten by GEICO Indemnity Company. Homeowners, renters, boat and PWC coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. Some discounts, coverages, payment plans and features are not available in all states or all GEICO companies. Discount amount varies in some states. Discount is not available in all states or in all GEICO companies. One group discount applicable per policy. Coverage is individual. In New York a premium reduction is available. Government Employees Insurance Co. t GEICO General Insurance Co. t GEICO Indemnity Co. t GEICO Casualty Co. These companies are subsidiaries of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. GEICO: Washington, DC 20076. GEICO Gecko image Š 1999-2010. Š 2010 GEICO
25th Annual National Association of Graduate-Professional Students National Conference
SAVE THE DATE October 27th-30th, 2011 University of Colorado, Boulder
Graduate and professional students deserve recognition and support as a unique population within the university. NAGPS serves as the umbrella organization representing all the graduate and professional students in the country.
Conference will include opportunities to: Network with fellow graduate and professional students; Participate in professional development activities; Exchange best practices related to policy and advocacy; Foster higher levels of engagement in your graduate student body; Develop skills to improve relationships with university administrators; Learn to work effectively with your undergraduate student government; and Take new ideas back home to your GPSA Questions? Please contact: uggsinfo@colorado.edu
Healthcare changes for graduate and professional students If you've been keeping up with the news, you've likely heard a few words said about the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But if you cut through the punditsphere, there are a few keys facts that have the potential to impact you as a graduate or professional student. To put it briefly: the cost of student healthcare plans will begin to rise in 2012, but not until 2014 will Medicaid be broadened and subsidies be made available that will cover most graduate students. So depending on the details of your student healthcare plan (if you have one), this means that there is a two year window in which your total cost of education might increase. Read on for more details and to see what you can do to get more information.
First, what happens in 2012? First, let's start by defining a term: maximum annual benefits. is is the maximum amount that an insurance provider is obligated to pay out in benefits per policy year on your behalf, and is currently specific to each institution and provider (i.e. no standard maximum across all student healthcare policies). If this amount is $75,000 then your provider is only obligated to pay up to $75,000 in benefits per year. Starting in 2012, this maximum will begin to gradually increase: • 2012: $100k • 2013: $2 million • 2014: Unlimited Depending on the details of your current student healthcare plan, your policy premium may increase. is can happen in one of two ways: 1. If you pay your premium out-of-pocket, you'll be spending more money. is is the more obvious of the two ways.
2. If your institution currently pays the premium, this increased cost may be passed on to students in the form of increased tuition and fees. But, as was mentioned before, this depends on the details of your current plan. For instance, if your student healthcare plan already has an unlimited maximum annual benefit, you probably won't see a premium increase at all (or at least not one that's directly related to the issue described here). But if your plan currently has a maximum of $50,000 expect to see higher premiums.
en what happens in 2014? In 2014 two things will happen. First, Medicaid eligibility will be broadened to include individuals with annual income up to 133% of the poverty line ($14,404/year for individuals or $29,326/year for a family of four). Second, exchanges will be created for individuals to purchase health insurance and subsidies will be provided for individuals with annual income up to 400% of the poverty line ($43,320/year for individuals or $88,200/year for a family of four). Most graduate students will be covered by one or both of these changes-meaning you'll likely be eligible for either Medicaid or a subsidy to purchase health insurance.
So what happens in between? at's the crux of the issue at hand: in the two-year interim, will your total cost of education increase? e answer depends on your current student healthcare plan. If your maximum annual benefit is relatively low, the answer is probably yes. If it's high, the answer is...maybe. To find out for sure, contact your institution's administrators to determine the details of your policy. Once you find out, let us know. We're soliciting feedback from students, and we're interested to know the situation at your institution--whether you're expecting your cost to increase or not. Send me an email at relations@nagps.org and let me know what you find. Looking forward to hearing from you... Matt Cooper NAGPS Director of Relations
Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week Celebrated Nationwide! In 1993, NAGPS created Graduate-Professional Student Appreciation Week (GPSAW) to recognize the contributions of graduate and professional students on campus and within our broader communities. is year, GPSAW was held April 4-8, and was celebrated or recognized by more than 40 campuses nationwide!
What happened on your campus to recognize GPSAW? Please drop us a line at communications@nagps.org with stories, photographs, testimonials or descriptions of events during the week – we would like to use this information for future NAGPS publications. For more information on GPSAW, including resolutions from legislators recognizing the week, please the GPSAW web site.
Mark Your Calendars
GPSA Week 2012
April 2–6, 2012
Next year we will again celebrate GPSA Week the first full week of April, so mark your calendars, reserve rooms on campus, and start partnering with departments to help your university continue to show graduate and professional students how much they are appreciated!
New Member Benefit: Student Advantage Student Advantage is the nation’s largest discount card designed for students – and now your NAGPS membership can provide you free or significantly discounted access to this card! Student Advantage offers valuable discounts to students, including discounts on Amtrak, Greyhound, Lenovo, Target, Barnes & Noble and Verizon Wireless to name a few. As the result of a new agreement with Student Advantage, NAGPS has added a one-year Student Advantage card as a benefit of our individual memberships, and is making Student Advantage cards available to students of organizational members for just $18 – a 20% discount! Visit nagps.org/sa for more information on how your NAGPS membership can provide you discounted access to Student Advantage discounts and save you money!
2011 Board of Directors President Jon Kowalski president@nagps.org Vice President Debra Scardino vice-president@nagps.org
Directors Finance Communications Administration Outreach Relations
Denise Philpot finance@nagps.org Patrick Kelley communications@nagps.org PJ Dillon administration@nagps.org Alime Sadikova outreach@nagps.org Matt Cooper relations@nagps.org
Committee Chairs Employment Intl. Students Legislative Social Justice
Christine McCary ecc@nagps.org Sandipan Datta iscc@nagps.org Mary Winn lcc@nagps.org David Grimes sjc@nagps.org
Regional Chairs Midwest Northeast Southcentral Southeast Western
Yasha Nath mwrc@nagps.org Angela Jia nerc@nagps.org LaDesta McCann scrc@nagps.org Alenette Opena serc@nagps.org Jordan Vincent wrc@nagps.org
ank you for reading the NAGPS Newsletter – June 2011 We are constantly working to improve the NAGPS Newsletter: please send feedback, comments, or questions to the Director of Communications
Volume 24, Number 4 Director of Communications Patrick Gage Kelley communications@nagps.org