From nhathaway at osrhe.edu Tue Jan 6 13:24:19 2026 From: nhathaway at osrhe.edu (Hathaway, Nick) Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2026 19:24:19 +0000 Subject: [Cobo] Our Meeting This Thursday, January the 8th (10 a.m.) Message-ID: Dear Business Officers, Our next Council of Business Officers (COBO) meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 8. We will meet in the Regents Conference Room at the OSRHE offices in Oklahoma City. We will continue to utilize a hybrid format to balance the value of face-to-face camaraderie with the convenience of virtual participation. I will send a Zoom link along with the final agenda. Our agenda includes several high-value items designed to keep you informed and support our collective goals for operational excellence: * Legislative Update: A briefing from VC Jarrett Jobe on current state legislative initiatives and activities relevant to higher education funding and operations. * Budget Update: A discussion of state revenue available for FY27 budget planning as informed by materials recently provided by the Board of Equalization. * AI and Data Management Presentation: A presentation from Grooper focusing on innovative tools for data management and the practical applications of AI within our business offices. * Follow-up on Action Items: We will review progress on initiatives from our previous sessions. As we aim to make these meetings as impactful as possible, I encourage you to share any specific challenges or "best practices" from your campus that you would like to highlight during our open forum. I look forward to seeing you all—whether in person or online! Best regards, Nick -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From zdumas at osrhe.edu Wed Jan 7 09:41:06 2026 From: zdumas at osrhe.edu (Dumas, Zachary) Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2026 15:41:06 +0000 Subject: [Cobo] FY27 Academic Service Fees Request Forms - Reminder Message-ID: Good morning Business Officers, Attached is the form for requesting changes to FY27 Academic Services Fees. Submit completed request forms electronically to zdumas at osrhe.edu by Friday, January 30, 2026. Additional notes: A request for changes to academic and service fees form must be submitted for each fee change, including creation of a new fee, increase or decrease of an existing fee, and deletion of a current fee. Please submit all fee change forms in one spreadsheet under different tabs for each institution, campus, or special program. Enter all of your changes on a single tab (“ASFees – Form”), unless you are breaking it up by institution, campus, or special program. There are also tabs for instructions and samples. There are five categories in academic services fee changes forms (see tabs on attached file) as listed below, please utilize appropriate category of fee change form when submitting a request. * Special Instruction Fees * Facility-Equip Utilization Fees * Testing-Clinical Service Fees * Classroom-Lab Supply Fees * Other Special Fees Please complete all applicable columns before submitting the forms. When there is a new course name/new course number, even when the fee amount remains unchanged, both a new fee request with new course name/number and a deletion of fee request with current course name/number (current fee amount to proposed amount of zero) are required. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank You. Zachary Dumas Fiscal Analyst Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education zdumas at osrhe.edu 405-225-9381 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FY27 Academic Service Fees Form.xlsx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet Size: 69355 bytes Desc: FY27 Academic Service Fees Form.xlsx URL: From nhathaway at osrhe.edu Wed Jan 7 15:07:37 2026 From: nhathaway at osrhe.edu (Hathaway, Nick) Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2026 21:07:37 +0000 Subject: [Cobo] =?windows-1252?q?Agenda_=26_Zoom_Link=3A_COBO_Meeting_=96_?= =?windows-1252?q?Tomorrow=2C_January_8?= Message-ID: Dear Business Officers, As a reminder, our next Council of Business Officers meeting is tomorrow, Thursday, January 8, at 10:00 a.m.. We will be meeting in a hybrid format in the Regents Conference Room and via the Zoom link below. Zoom Link: https://onenet.zoom.us/j/85001197130?pwd=QuWD5b95xt6bLZ8CaWbAoOTPZjUFmX.1 I have attached our agenda to this e-mail. Please remember to sign up for COBO's new Q&A community list serve by sending an e-mail to cobo-qa-join at lists.onenet.net Thank you for your commitment to COBO! I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow! Best regards, Nick -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: COBO January 2026 Agenda.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 16815 bytes Desc: COBO January 2026 Agenda.docx URL: From nhathaway at osrhe.edu Mon Jan 12 11:00:54 2026 From: nhathaway at osrhe.edu (Hathaway, Nick) Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2026 17:00:54 +0000 Subject: [Cobo] U.S. Department of Education Reaches Consensus on Historic New Accountability Framework and Concludes Higher Education Reform Rulemaking Sessions In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Business Officers, Below please find a press release issued by the U.S. Department of Education this morning regarding negotiated rulemaking and the Department’s new accountability framework under the AHEAD committee. We will continue to monitor developments and share additional guidance as the rulemaking process moves forward. Nick ** EXTERNAL EMAIL ** [http://res1.info.ed.gov/res/edgov_mkt_prod1/31489a51450e4f92b9b95309a1ff2aacd1068798cb88d1226d6eeb44e2bec43a.png] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 9, 2025 Contact: Press Office press at ed.gov U.S. Department of Education Reaches Consensus on Historic New Accountability Framework and Concludes Higher Education Reform Rulemaking Sessions The U.S. Department of Education (the Department) has reached consensus on the third and final regulatory package to implement the historic changes made to higher education as part of President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act (the Act). This marks the third consecutive time the Department has reached consensus on regulatory changes to implement the Act under the leadership of U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Under Secretary Nicholas Kent. Today, the Department concluded the final session of its Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) negotiated rulemaking committee, which focused on implementing a new accountability framework for all institutions of higher education. Negotiators reached agreement on a historic accountability framework that, for the first time in decades, will hold all postsecondary institutions accountable for inadequate student outcomes—ending the long-standing practice of selective enforcement under the last two Democrat Administrations, based on tax status and politics rather than student outcomes. An increasing number of students pursuing postsecondary education are financially worse off than if they had never gone to college. Poor earnings, coupled with high costs, make college a bad investment for too many students, ultimately leaving taxpayers to shoulder the burden when some borrowers default. Today, the federal student loan portfolio nears $1.7 trillion, yet institutions of higher education remain largely absolved of responsibility for their role in student loan defaults. This is a bad deal for both students and taxpayers. Under the consensus-based proposal, the Act’s “Do Not Harm” standard has been harmonized with the existing Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations to bring accountability to all programs across sectors, using commonsense earnings thresholds. “After more than 15 years of regulatory uncertainty under the previous three Administrations, we’ve developed an accountability framework that institutions can work with, students will benefit from, and taxpayers can rightfully expect to improve outcomes,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent. “We deeply appreciate the AHEAD Committee negotiators and their efforts to break the cycle of student debt and poor return on investment for students and end the regulatory whiplash that has occurred for far too long. We look forward to holding all programs – across all postsecondary institutions – accountable.” The AHEAD Committee’s agreed upon language treats all programs – from certificate to graduate programs – equally. Under the proposed framework, institutions will lose access to the Direct Loan program if they fail to meet the relevant earnings thresholds for two out of three years. Further, if at least half of the institution’s Title IV recipients or half of the institution’s Title IV funds come from these failing programs, those programs will also lose Pell Grant eligibility. This framework was lauded by negotiators representing students, institutions, taxpayers, the business community, state agencies, and the legal aid community alike. As part of the Department's efforts to harmonize accountability regulations, negotiators agreed to eliminate the Gainful Employment “debt-to-earnings” measure. This measure was unnecessarily duplicative of the new earnings metric in terms of identifying the same failing programs, while also creating significant burdens for both institutions and the Department. Negotiators expressed appreciation for the Department’s commitment to treating all programs fairly and balancing the interests of both students and institutions to create a rule that will endure across Administrations. Background: Section 492 of the Higher Education Act (HEA) requires that the Secretary of Education solicit public comment in the development of proposed regulations before publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking implementing programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA. After obtaining advice and recommendations from the public and stakeholders, the Secretary conducts negotiated rulemaking to develop the proposed regulations. In July, President Trump signed the Act into law, which implemented sweeping changes to simplify the overly complex federal student loan repayment system, create the first Workforce Pell Grant program, and enhance accountability measures for higher education programs. On July 24, the Department announced its intention to establish the AHEAD Committee to prepare proposed regulations. For more information on the negotiated rulemaking process, see here. ### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From nhathaway at osrhe.edu Wed Jan 14 09:19:59 2026 From: nhathaway at osrhe.edu (Hathaway, Nick) Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 15:19:59 +0000 Subject: [Cobo] Important: OCAMP Funding Utilization Update & Legislative Advocacy Priorities Message-ID: Dear Business Officers, As you know, we have a responsibility to demonstrate the stewardship and strategic impact of the Oklahoma Capital Assets Maintenance and Protection (OCAMP) funds. There are two requests in this e-mail. One relates to the usage of allocated funds and the other relates to future priorities. A request for additional deferred maintenance funds is an important component of our FY27 legislative agenda. It is essential that we provide a clear, unified account of how previous allocations have been utilized. Attached, please find an excel spreadsheet to lead you in compiling this information. Please return the completed file to me. I am aware that some of you have already provided this information, thank you!! In completing this update, please remember/note the limitations on the uses of the most recent allocation of OCAMP funds (as detailed in an attachment to this e-mail). In summary, these funds can only be spent on projects that you have previously identified as your institution's deferred maintenance needs. These priorities were shared with the Long-Range Capital Planning Commission by OSRHE in the effort to secure the release of these funds to you. The attachment explains the process to make changes to these previously identified priorities. Through these requests, we aim to achieve two strategic objectives: 1. Expressing Appreciation through Impact The Legislature’s investment has already begun to transform our campuses. We must make it clear that these funds are not merely "patching leaks" but are serving as a catalyst for: * Life Safety & Security: Projects are providing immediate, modern security solutions. * Workforce Development: Strategic renovations directly support Oklahoma’s "critical occupation" needs. * Infrastructure Sustainability: We are utilizing these funds to move from reactive repairs to proactive asset management to ensure long-term fiscal responsibility. 2. Identifying High-Impact Future Priorities In addition to the expenditure report, I invite you to share your institution’s top five priorities for additional funding. We are specifically looking for high-impact projects that will help illustrate the extremely positive impact of these funds. When identifying these, please emphasize: * Critical Workforce Needs: Projects that expand capacity. * Safety and Compliance: Projects that contribute to campus security or modernization of obsolete fire suppression, elevators, or ADA-accessibility infrastructure. * Operational Efficiency: "Building Envelope" projects that provide significant energy savings and/or prevent further asset deterioration. Thank you for your leadership on these requests. Please reach out with any questions. Nick -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: FY-26 OCAMP Funds Summary Template v2.xlsx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet Size: 23868 bytes Desc: FY-26 OCAMP Funds Summary Template v2.xlsx URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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