News

OPT Fees; Education Leaders; Environmental Research

BU in DC

Bronwyn Keefe, Jordana Muroff, and Annalee Wilson of the School of Social Work and Karen Jacobs, Craig Slater, and Kristen Hamilton of the Sargent College of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences attended the Gerontological Society of America's 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting between November 4 and 7. 

Mario Leccese and Keith Ericson of the Questrom School of Business addressed the Federal Trade Commission's 19th Annual Microeconomics Conference on November 5 and 6.

BU OPPOSES PROPOSED FEE FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WORKING IN THE U.S.

Boston University joined universities, scientific societies, employers, and elected officials in submitting comments to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) opposing a proposal to charge $70,000 for each international student recommended for Optional Practical Training (OPT). OPT allows international students to work in the U.S. for up to one year after graduation, or up to three years for STEM graduates. Students are currently required to pay an application fee of $500. BU's comment letter warns that these costs would place the program out of reach for many international students, hindering their ability to share their talents with small businesses, nonprofits, and public institutions. Nearly 9,000 public comments were submitted before Monday's deadline. DHS must review these comments before issuing a final regulation. 

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BUZZ BITS...

• On Wednesday, the House Education and Workforce Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development held a hearing titled "The Rise of Sports Gambling on College Campuses." Experts warned about the growing problem of gambling addiction among college students, while lawmakers examined how universities can help students make responsible decisions and better protect student-athletes. 
• On Monday, the Senate passed the Respond, Innovate, Succeed, and Empower (RISE) Act, which would allow students with disabilities to use their existing testing or evaluation results to qualify for accommodations without having to undergo additional assessments when transitioning from high school to college. The bill would allow students to instead use existing documentation, such as an individualized education program (IEP) or 504 plan, as proof of disability. It now heads to the House of Representatives for consideration. 
• Last week's midterm elections will bring changes to the membership and leadership of key congressional committees. On Wednesday, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) announced that he will serve as the top Republican on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee next year, working alongside incoming Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on policies affecting higher education. 

GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE

The Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) released two solicitations for fiscal year 2028 research projects: the SERDP Core solicitation and the SERDP Exploratory Development (SEED) solicitation. The Core solicitation seeks research and development pre-proposals that address priority environmental challenges across DOD installations, natural resource management, and weapons systems and platforms. Submissions are due by January 7. The SEED solicitation provides smaller, shorter-term funding opportunities for researchers to investigate innovative approaches that involve high technical risk or lack sufficient preliminary data; proposals are due by March 11. SERDP will host a webinar for interested investigators on November 20.

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