At its April meeting and June retreat, the Commission gave preliminary approval to revisions to seven of its policies, a new policy, and two sets of guidelines/ instructions.
The proposed changes to four of these policies (the policies on Selection, Ethics, and Responsibilities of Commissioners; Selection of Chairpersons and Evaluators; Off-campus Programming; and Substantive Change) are, in large measure, intended to bring the policies into closer alignment with relevant federal regulations.
Selection, Ethics, and Responsibilities of Commissioners
Selection of Chairpersons and Evaluators
The proposed changes to the Policy and Procedures for Adverse Actions and the two new related documents (Instructions for Arbitration of an Adverse Appeal Decision; Policy on Institutional Obligation regarding Litigation) are prompted by the Commission’s recent experience in handling an appeal.
Instructions for Arbitration of an Adverse Appeal Decision
The proposed changes to the Policy on Complaints and the Policy and Procedures for Public Comments are prompted by staff experience in handling complaints and public comments and are intended to make these processes more effective.
Finally, the Commission has prepared a new set of Guidelines for the Review of Prison Education Programs developed in response to changes in federal regulations that, effective July 1, 2023, will allow incarcerated individuals to use Pell grants to enroll in prison education programs.
Before making a final decision at its September 2023 meeting, the Commission seeks your comments about the proposed changes and new documents. Your comments should be addressed to Larry Schall at lschall@neche.org no later than September 5, 2023. Please put ‘Policy Revisions’ in the subject line. If you have questions, please contact me or the Commission’s Senior Vice President, Pat O’Brien (pobrien@neche.org /781-425-7712).
