Creating a budget each year will help guide your chapter’s financial decisions and ensure you are using resources responsibly.
A budget provides a clear picture of expected income and expenses, aligns your spending with the chapter’s goals, and helps you plan events and initiatives with confidence. Tracking your real expenses and income against your budget helps identify trends and may help you better prepare for future years.
Amid the changes and uncertainty higher ed institutions are navigating, chief HR officers (CHROs) are providing critical leadership to their institutions and workforce. To support those efforts, our new CHRO Conversations offer monthly opportunities for CHROs to hear about strategies being implemented on other campuses, to discuss solutions to emerging challenges, and to connect with one another in a space where conversation is encouraged.
Hosted by CUPA-HR, each 60-minute virtual session features knowledgeable and experienced higher ed HR leaders sharing real-world insights on a timely topic — from workforce planning and HR systems to compensation and strategic leadership. Each session includes breakout discussions to create a high-impact experience tailored to the demands of today’s HR leaders navigating ambiguity and change.
Important: These events are open only to higher ed chief HR officers at CUPA-HR member institutions. Seats are limited to support interaction among participants, so come prepared to engage, reflect and share ideas. These events will not be recorded.
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In 2025, CUPA-HR has expanded its focus on leadership development. To better understand what we mean by this, CUPA-HR staff engaged in an inclusive and iterative process with over 200 CUPA-HR members across multiple programs, committees, boards and councils to explore different experiences of leadership. The result of this process is a definition that reflects a shared understanding of leadership as a practice rooted in relationships, purpose and impact. The definition is also reflective of CUPA-HR’s values and will guide leadership development efforts moving forward.
Leadership is guiding others to achieve outcomes through collaborative relationships.
Although the definition offers a holistic look at leadership, it is grounded in three distinct elements shaped by CUPA-HR member and staff input.
This shared definition of leadership will serve as a foundation for CUPA-HR’s ongoing and future efforts. It will guide our multi-year leadership development strategy, inform the design of leadership development programs and resources, and shape how we communicate about leadership. From refining event tracks and storytelling in our communications, to supporting chapters and aligning with our Learning Framework, this definition will be a touchstone for our work, ensuring that leadership development remains grounded in the voices, values and aspirations of our community. See additional context for the leadership definition and questions for reflecting on how it applies to your work.
CUPA-HR’s Career Growth Series is a three-part professional development opportunity for higher ed HR professionals who want to explore how to grow, lead and thrive in their careers. These 90-minute virtual workshops will offer practical tools, peer insights and reflective space to support your growth.
While you can register for only one or two of the workshops, together they form a cohesive journey — from identifying creative, self-directed development opportunities to evaluating leadership readiness and building the skills and strategies needed to step into and succeed in leadership roles.
The Career Growth Series is a pilot program that is open to invited CUPA-HR members. Seats are limited to support interaction among participants. The workshops will be highly interactive, so come prepared to engage, reflect and share ideas. The sessions will not be recorded.
New to CUPA-HR Virtual Events?
Wednesday, August 13 | 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET
This workshop invites you to rethink professional development by exploring unconventional, self-directed strategies that align with your position and career aspirations. Through interactive activities and real-world examples, you’ll learn how to identify meaningful growth opportunities, build support for your development plan and articulate the value of your learning. Explore how curiosity, creativity and commitment can be key drivers for shaping a fulfilling professional journey in higher ed HR.
Presenters
Krista Vaught, Ed.D.
Principal Advisor, Employee Experience and Learning and Development
Frontier Design
Natalie Trent
Talent Management Manager
Grand Valley State University
The Zoom link will be shared with registrants via email the day before the event.
Wednesday, August 20 | 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
This workshop will help you explore if leadership/management is the right next step in your career journey and will challenge the assumption that upward mobility is the only route to career fulfillment. Through self-assessment, peer dialogue and real-world insights, you’ll examine your motivations and strengths — and the realities of leadership roles. Leave with clarity on your path forward, whether it involves formal leadership or alternative growth opportunities in higher ed HR.
Presenters
Dawn Aziz, Ph.D.
Director, Organization and Employee Development
Wayne State University
Kristen Finley
Talent and Organizational Development Specialist
Clemson University
Elizabeth Oeltjenbruns
Organization Development Consultant
University of South Florida
Krista Vaught, Ed.D.
Principal Advisor, Employee Experience and Learning and Development
Frontier Design
The Zoom link will be shared with registrants via email the day before the event.
Wednesday, August 27 | 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET
This workshop is for higher ed HR professionals who are pursuing a leadership or managerial role or have recently transitioned into leadership/management. You’ll explore essential leadership competencies, reflect on your readiness, and learn strategies to build experience and credibility, even without a formal title. Through interactive discussions and real-world insights, you’ll gain tools to confidently navigate the shift from team member to a formal leadership role.
Laura Boehme
Vice President of People and Technology
Central Oregon Community College
Krista Vaught, Ed.D.
Principal Advisor, Employee Experience and Learning and Development
Frontier Design
The Zoom link will be shared with registrants via email the day before the event.
CORE
Employee Development
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP
Leading the Higher Ed Business Model
ENGAGEMENT
Self-Awareness and Accountability
New to CUPA-HR Virtual Events?
The CUPA-HR website requires you to create a free site account if you don’t already have one. After you’ve created a website account and established a login, you can then proceed to register for this event. If you have any questions while registering, please contact CUPA-HR toll free at 877-287-2474 or via e-mail at [email protected].
Need to Cancel a Registration?
Fill out the cancellation form.
by CUPA-HR | June 24, 2025
On June 18, the Department of State issued a cable to all U.S. diplomatic and consular posts formally expanding the screening and vetting process for applicants of F, M and J (FMJ) nonimmigrant visas. The State Department guidance resumes FMJ appointment scheduling after a previous announcement from the agency paused all student visa interviews as they prepared for the new social media screening and vetting guidance.
Background
At the end of May, the State Department announced that U.S. embassies and consular sections were pausing new student visa interviews as they awaited further guidance on new social media screening and vetting requirements. CUPA-HR joined the American Council on Education and other higher education associations on a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio requesting the agency quickly implement the new vetting measures to ensure new student visas could be efficiently processed before the 2025-2026 academic year. No further guidance was publicly announced between the announced pausing of student visa interviews and the cable sent out to all diplomatic and consular posts.
New Screening and Vetting Guidance
The cable directs consular sections to resume scheduling FMJ appointments after implementing the new vetting procedures. The guidance requires officers to conduct “a comprehensive and thorough vetting of all FMJ applicants, including online presence, to identify applicants who bear hostile attitudes toward our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles; who advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to U.S. national security; or who perpetrate unlawful antisemitic harassment or violence.” The posts are directed to implement the new guidance within five business days.
As explained in the cable, consular officers are directed to conduct intake and interviews in accordance with standard procedures, but once an FMJ applicant is otherwise eligible for the requested nonimmigrant status, officers must temporarily refuse the case under Section 221(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). After refusing the case, officers must request the applicant set all social media accounts to “public,” after which the officer must examine “the applicant’s entire online presence — not just social media activity — using any appropriate search engines or other online resources.”
The new vetting procedures could limit the consular officers’ ability to process student visa applications quickly and efficiently as the cable also mentions that consular sections should “consider the effect of this guidance on workload” when resuming the scheduling of FMJ appointments. Even with these concerns, the cable does request expedited appointments for certain FMJs, including J-1 physicians and F-1 students seeking to study at U.S. institutions where the international student body constitutes 15 percent or less of the total student population.
While much of the advocacy from interested stakeholders on this issue revolves around students, individuals seeking J-1 visas to participate in cultural and educational exchange programs to conduct research or teach at institutions could be subject to an enhanced level of scrutiny. CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for updates related to the FMJ vetting processes.
by CUPA-HR | June 24, 2025
On June 10, Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act (S. 2013). The Higher Wages for American Workers Act would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and directing the secretary of labor to adjust the minimum wage annually based on inflation.
Higher Wages for American Workers Act
The bill proposes to increase the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour beginning January 1 of the first year after enactment. Each year after, the secretary of labor is directed to increase the minimum wage annually by “the percentage increase, if any, in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.”
Although the federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, several states have increased their state minimum wage above the current $7.25 per hour. As of January 1, 2025, 30 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wage laws set above the federal level, and 10 states and the District of Columbia have a minimum wage of $15 per hour or higher. All other states must follow the minimum wage set by Congress through the FLSA.
Looking Ahead
While legislation has been introduced in recent years to increase the federal minimum wage, calls to increase the level to $15 per hour have mostly come from Congressional Democrats. It is therefore notable that Republican Senator Josh Hawley is leading efforts on this issue. It remains to be seen if enough Republicans in the Senate will also support this effort to give the legislation the chance to receive 60 votes to bypass the filibuster and whether House Republicans will take up similar legislation.
CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of further developments related to federal minimum wage laws.
by CUPA-HR | June 17, 2025
On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1, titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Notably, the reconciliation “megabill” includes a provision to implement President Trump’s campaign pledge on “no tax on overtime,” among various legislative priorities for Republicans.
The “No Tax on Overtime” Proposal
The overtime proposal creates a temporary above-the-line deduction from gross income for overtime pay required under the Fair labor Standards Act (FLSA). The bill does not set a cap on the amount of overtime pay that can be deducted, but it limits the application of the provision to employees who earn less than $160,000 per year, and it does not extend the deduction to independent contractors. If signed into law, the deduction will be available for tax years 2025 through 2028, and employers would be required to report overtime compensation on workers’ W-2 forms during this time.
The proposed deduction only applies to workers’ federal income taxes and overtime pay as required by the FLSA, raising some compliance concerns for employers in states with different overtime pay requirements than those required under the FLSA and for employers whose overtime pay requirements are set by a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) with overtime pay that differs from the FLSA requirements. These employers will likely need to track both the FLSA-mandated overtime hours and pay to ensure workers’ W-2s are accurate and in compliance with the law while also ensuring they are tracking the overtime hours and pay in a manner that also complies with the more stringent state or CBA obligations.
While CBA requirements vary case-by-case, there are five states with overtime pay requirements under their state wage and hour laws that differ from the requirements under the FLSA:
Looking Ahead
The reconciliation bill is still early in the legislative process. For now, the “no tax on overtime” provision is only included in the House version of the bill. The Senate is currently drafting its version of the reconciliation bill, and they may choose to alter the no tax on overtime proposal — possibly including language of the Overtime Wages Tax Relief Act that was introduced earlier this year by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS). CUPA-HR will continue to monitor for further developments on this issue.
by CUPA-HR | June 10, 2025
Each month, CUPA-HR General Counsel Ira Shepard provides an overview of several labor and employment law cases and regulatory actions with implications for the higher ed workplace. Here’s the latest from Ira.
A federal court recently ruled that Workday’s artificial intelligence scoring algorithm for screening job applicants meets the standard to conclude that it may violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in discriminating against older job applicants. The court ruled that the nationwide class action may proceed (Mobley v. Workday (N.D. Cal. 3:23-cv-00770, 5/16/25)).
While the court has not yet ruled on other allegations, the lawsuit also alleged that the algorithm has an unlawful disparate impact based on race and disability. President Trump has instructed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice not to prosecute disparate impact cases, but this executive order does not apply to private lawsuits or state equal employment opportunity laws.
On May 22, 2025, a federal court judge in Massachusetts issued a broad injunction prohibiting the mass layoffs and office closings at the Department of Education. The judge ordered the administration to reinstate all laid-off employees, and carry out all duties mandated by U.S. law, including managing student loans, aiding state educational programs and enforcing civil rights laws. The judge ruled that the personnel cuts would likely “cripple the department.” The judge concluded that the president lacked the power to effectively dissolve a federal agency created by Congress by getting rid of employees, closing offices and transferring duties to other agencies (Somerville Public Schools v. Trump (D. Mass. 25-cv-10667, 5/22/25)). The Trump administration will appeal the decision. Learn more.
The day before, on May 21, 2025, a federal court judge in Washington, D.C. denied a private lawsuit to enjoin President Trump’s executive order, which resulted in placing nearly half of the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) staff on administrative leave and closing seven of the OCR’s 12 regional offices. The lawsuit was brought by a group of parents and students and the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. The judge denied the request for a temporary injunction, holding that the plaintiffs lacked appropriate standing to sue and were unlikely to prevail on the merits (Carter v. United States Department of Education (D.D.C. No. 1:25-cv-007044, 5/21/25)).
An executive order signed by President Trump on May 9, 2025, advised all federal agencies that they should consider civil rather than criminal enforcement of their regulations. This could have a significant impact on the enforcement of federal laws and regulations in the HR field. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) all have an optional criminal enforcement capability, which is in addition to the standard civil enforcement typically pursued by the Department of Labor. The executive order also stated that agencies should avoid imposing a “strict liability” standard to their rules. Strict liability allows the government to pursue a person or entity in a situation regardless of intent.
The executive order also requires all agencies to, within one year, provide the Department of Justice with a list of criminal regulatory offenses they are enforcing and the range of the criminal penalties for violation.
A federal court recently ruled that the Unified Oakland School Board was immune from a lawsuit by a kindergarten teacher who refused to call a student by the pronouns they use, despite the student’s and parents’ wishes. The teacher claimed that to do so was inconsistent with her religious beliefs and to require her to do so violated her First Amendment right to freedom of religion. The school district had offered the plaintiff several accommodations before termination, including the option to call the student by their first name. The plaintiff refused and was ultimately terminated.
The court dismissed the claim against the school district on sovereign immunity grounds and against individual officials on qualified immunity grounds (Ramirez v. Oakland Unified School District et al. (2025 BL 181443 N.D. Cal., No. 24-cv-09223, LB, 5/27/25)). The plaintiff was given 28 days to file an amended complaint against individual defendants.
The judge also dismissed the teacher’s First Amendment free speech claim, holding that her refusal to use the pronoun the student uses was not protected free speech.
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the government from enforcing a presidential executive order which would have banned Harvard from continuing to enroll foreign students. The judge ruled that it would cause Harvard irreparable harm and issued the TRO barring enforcement of the executive order and ordering that a hearing be held on the issue on June 16, 2025 (Harvard v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security (25-cv-11472, U.S. D Ct. Maa. (Boston) 6/5/25)).
The TRO will be in effect until the June 16, 2025, hearing when the court will hear arguments over whether to extend the injunction. Learn more.
On June 7, 2025, Judge Claudia Wilkens of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved the proposed NCAA and Power Five conferences (the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC) settlement of the antitrust lawsuit brought against them for not allowing college athletes to receive payments for name, image and likeness (NIL) related to their college sports status. The judge approved a $2.8 billion settlement proposal to be distributed among student-athletes playing during the 2016-2024 seasons. In addition, the colleges are allowed to share up to 22% of revenue received annually from athletic programs with college athletes — capped at $20.5 million a year — going forward for 10 years. The cap will be adjusted upward by 4% during the first two years of the agreement.
It is estimated that, of the $20.5 million annual cap, about 90% will go to football players and about 10% will go to male basketball players. In addition, NIL payments made by boosters and other sports-related entities are subject to outside review by the accounting firm Deloitte.
Because of the unprecedented and fast-changing pronouncements of the new presidential administration and the intervening court challenges, the developments contained in this blog post are subject to change. Before acting on the legal issues discussed here, please consult your college or university counsel and, as always, act with caution.
by CUPA-HR | June 9, 2025
On June 6, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement in House v. NCAA, which will allow higher education institutions to share revenue with student-athletes directly.
The settlement creates a 10-year revenue-sharing model that will allow the athletic departments of the higher education institutions in the Power Five conferences (the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC) and any other Division I institutions that opt in to distribute approximately $20.5 million in name, image, and likeness (NIL) revenue during the 2025-2026 season. The revenue-sharing cap will increase annually and be calculated as 22.5% of the Power Five schools’ average athletic revenue. The settlement also includes an enforcement arm to penalize institutions that exceed the $20.5 million cap, which will be overseen by a new regulatory body, the College Sports Commission. Institutions can start to share revenue beginning on July 1, 2025.
Additionally, the settlement requires the NCAA and Power Five conferences to pay approximately $2.8 billion in damages to Division I athletes who were barred from signing NIL deals. This covers athletes dating back to 2016. It also replaces scholarship limits with roster limits.
The settlement does not change college athletes’ ability to enter into NIL contracts with third parties, but under the settlement, all outside NIL deals valued at greater than $600 will have to go through a clearinghouse for approval. The clearinghouse will determine if the revenue is for a valid business purpose and if it reflects fair market value.
Prior to this settlement, college athletes could only earn NIL revenue through partnerships with outside parties, such as companies or donor groups. The original case, House v. NCAA, was brought by two former college athletes in June 2020. They challenged the NCAA’s then-policy that prohibited athletes from earning NIL compensation. The case was consolidated with Carter v. NCAA and Hubbard v. NCAA, two similar cases. None of the cases ever made it to trial. Instead, in an effort to avoid higher damages, the NCAA and Power Five conferences agreed to a settlement in May 2024, and the court granted preliminary approval in October 2024.
As NCAA President Charlie Baker explained in a letter, the settlement “opens a pathway to begin stabilizing college sports. This new framework that enables schools to provide direct financial benefits to student-athletes and establishes clear and specific rules to regulate third-party NIL agreements marks a huge step forward for college sports.”
CUPA-HR will keep members apprised of updates related to this settlement and the future of student-athletics.
