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  • Date:

    U.S. House of Representatives Passes the One Big Beautiful Tax and Spending Bill (May 22, 2025)

    The U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” with a vote of 215 to 214. The tax package provisions that would impact postsecondary institutions the most include (1) limiting Pell eligibility; (2) eliminating subsidized student loans; (3) eliminating Grad PLUS and restricting Parent PLUS loans; (4) imposing new limits on federal aid; (5) reducing forbearance and deferment options; (6) modification of the endowment tax; (7) impact on charitable giving; (8) expansion of tax on executive compensation; and (9) social security number requirement for tax credits. It now moves to the Senate with hopes of passing by July 4, 2025, though it may occur later in the summer.  

    Topics:

    Endowments & Gifts | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students | Taxes & Finances

  • Date:

    ACE Letter Opposing the Reconciliation Package (May 21, 2025)

    The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to the U.S. House of Representatives expressing strong opposition to the reconciliation package under consideration by the House. It states that if enacted, the bill would put college out of reach of hundreds of thousands of students, significantly increase the costs for remaining students, and weaken America’s ability to compete with global rivals “by undermining the academic and research system that has driven our economy for decades.” The letter also expresses concern about the proposed changes to student aid programs, the availability of federal student loans for graduate students, new and increased taxes imposed on institutions of higher education, and significant cuts to other programs supporting millions of postsecondary students nationwide. In addition to the proposed cuts in student aid and harmful tax provisions, the letter express concern about the deep cuts to Medicaid, as the Congressional Budget Office projects that millions of Americans could lose coverage, which in turn may reduce state support for public higher education, thus increasing pressure on campus health systems and teaching hospitals and limit access to care for millions of low-income students who rely on Medicaid. 

    Topics:

    Endowments & Gifts | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students | Taxes & Finances

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Comment Request on Borrower Defense to Loan Repayment Universal Forms (May 19, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (the Department) announced an updated Borrower Defense Application and application for Request for Reconsideration and has issued a request for comments on the forms. Following the April 2024 preliminary injunction granted by the Fifth Circuit enjoining the rule and postponing the effective date of the regular pending final judgment in the case, the documents were drafted to conform to the enjoined provision of the 2023 Regulation. The request for comments is to revise currently approved information collection to comply with the effective borrower defense regulation requirements and are distinct from the 2023 Regulation’s provisions. This revision is part of contingency planning in case the 2023 Regulation is permanently struck down. Commenters are due by June 18, 2025.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Maintaining Access to FSA Systems for Professional Users (May 14, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid (the Department) announced that as of May 18, 2025, several changes will be implemented that will impact users of the Access and Identity Management Systems (AIMS). Previously, if a user did not access a specific system behind AIMS for 90 calendar days, their access to that system was disabled; that number has now been reduced to 30 calendar days. This change is intended to ensure that the systems containing sensitive information remain as secure as possible.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Negotiated Rulemaking Committee on Federal Student Aid Programs (May 12, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education (the Department) announced its intention to establish a negotiated rulemaking committee to prepare proposed regulations for the Federal Student Aid programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The Department intends for the committee to include representatives of organizations or groups with interests that are significantly affected by the subject matter of the proposed regulations and formally requested nominations for individual negotiators who represent key stakeholder constituencies for the issues to be negotiated to serve on the committee. The committee will address topics which may include Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), and other topics, which would streamline and improve federal student financial assistance programs and related regulations. Nominations are due by June 2, 2025.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education Cancellation Notice of GPA, DDRA, and FRA (May 9, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education (the Department) published a Withdrawal of Notices Inviting Application and Cancellation of the Competitions for the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Program, and Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship Program. The Department wrote that it is canceling the competitions as part of a comprehensive review of the recently published FY 2025 Notice Inviting Applications (NIAs). It states that the reevaluation seeks to ensure that all priorities and requirements for the FY 2025 competitions align with the objectives established by the Trump Administration, foster consistency across all grant programs, and enhance the economic effectiveness of federal education funding.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | International Activities | Students | Study Abroad Programs

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Defense Memorandum on Certification of Merit-Based Military Service Academy Admissions (May 9, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) sent a memorandum to Senior Pentagon Leadership and Defense Agency and DoD Field Activity Directors that in alignment with the January 29, 2025, memorandum titled “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” the Secretaries of Military Departments have been directed to certify within thirty days that, for the purposes of the 2026 Military Services Academies (MSAs) admissions cycle, as well as subsequent admissions cycles, the MSA admissions offices will (1) apply no consideration of race, ethnicity, or sex; and (2) offer admissions based exclusively on merit. The memo concludes that MSAs are expected to rank-order candidates by merit-based scores within each nomination category, and that the highest-ranking candidates within each nomination category should receive appointments.

    Topics:

    Admissions | Students

  • Date:

    ACE Letter on Negotiated Rulemaking Committees (May 8, 2025)

    The American Council on Education (ACE) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) in response to the notice from the Department announcing the possible formation of negotiated rulemaking committees. The letter welcomes efforts to address the regulatory swing between different administrations and emphasizes that there has been significant cost and confusion as campuses attempt to repeatedly understand and implement radical shifts in regulatory requirements within a space of only a few years’ time. It offers suggestions and considerations for (1) Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income Contingent Repayment (ICR) student loan repayment plans; (2) refining definitions of a qualifying employer for the purposes of determining eligibility for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program; (3) reporting Requirements under Section 117 of the HEA; (4) Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency (GE/FVT); (5) bundled services guidance; (6) financial responsibility standards; (7) administrative capability; and (8) certification procedures. The letter concludes by emphasizing how requirements on institutions to meet state licensure requirements for every state in which they enroll students will be immensely difficult to manage for any program with a distance education component and represents a problematic expansion of federal regulations in a way that runs contrary to innovative distance education.  

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Program Integrity & Gainful Employment | Students

  • Date:

    U.S. Department of Education DCL on Title IV Obligations to Help Struggling Borrowers (May 5, 2025)

    U.S. Department of Education (the Department) issued a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) to institutions of higher education reminding them of their shared responsibility under Title IV to support student loan borrowers. In the DCL, the Department urges all institutions of higher education that receive federal funding assistance to reach out to all former students to remind them of their obligation to repay any federal student loan that is not in deferment or forbearance and urges that they do so before June 30, 2025. The Department also notes that it maintains data on the repayment status of federal student loan borrowers and provides information in the College Scorecard about the status of each institution’s borrowers after they enter repayment. The Department plans to use the data to calculate rates of nonrepayment by institution and will publish the information on the Federal Aid Data Center later this month. Finally, the DCL concludes that under the Higher Education Act (HEA), institutions are required to keep their cohort default rates (CDR) low or they risk losing eligibility for federal student assistance, including Pell Grants and federal student loans.  

    Topics:

    Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Students

  • Date:

    President’s FY 2026 Discretionary Budget Request (May 2, 2025)

    In the Trump Administration’s budget request, which was sent by Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell T. Vought to Senator Susan Collins and the Committee on Appropriations, the U.S. Department of Education would see a 15% reduction. Specifically, the cover letter and included chart setting forth discretionary spending changes calls for eliminating Federal Work Study, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Adult Education, Migrant Education and Special Programs for Migrant Students, Equity Access Centers, Teacher Quality Partnerships, TRIO programs, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), and the Higher Education Act (HEA) Title III-A Strengthening Institutions Program. Additionally, several substantial budget cuts are proposed for other programs and offices such as the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to “refocus away from DEI and Title IX transgender cases.” Cuts to other agencies that could impact postsecondary institutions include the National Science Foundation (a 56% decrease) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (an 18% decrease). 

    Topics:

    Accreditation, Authorizations, & Higher Education Act | Contracts | Financial Aid, Scholarships, & Student Loans | Grants, Contracts, & Sponsored Research | Higher Education Act (HEA) | Students

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