Notification of Changes due to the One Big Beautiful Bill

On July 4, 2025, the President signed H. R. 1 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) into law and made several changes to federal student aid programs. We are awaiting further guidance from the U. S. Department of Education to better understand the impacts of this legislation, its effects on students, and its future implementation. We will update this page as new information becomes available, and when we receive official guidance from the U.S. Department of Education.

The following changes were made to financial aid programs. These will not go into effect until July 1, 2026.

The following changes were made to financial aid programs

These will not go into effect until July 1, 2026.

Loan Reduction Due to Less than Full-time Enrollment

Institutions are required to reduce annual loan amounts in direct proportion to the percent of full-time status the student is enrolled.
If a student drops a course or withdraws a course at any point within the semester and they go below full-time, we will be required to reduce their loans.
This will be effective for the 2026-2027 aid year for ALL students.

Undergraduate Student Example

Student is full-time for Fall semester (12 credits) - 12/24 = 50%
Loan is disbursed at full-time (12 credits) (50%) - $2,750 of a $5,500 loan
Student withdraws from one class (3 credits) but keeps the 50% Fall disbursement
Student enrolls full-time for Spring. 12 credits (50%) BUT
Since their total enrollment is now 21 credits (9+12 = 21 / 24 or 87.5%)…
They can only receive 87.5% of the total annual loan amount… $5,500 x 87.5% = $4,813
And the Fall amount must be subtracted before the Spring amount can be released
So, the Spring amount would be 37.5% of the annual amount ($4,813 – $2,750 or $2,063)

Parent PLUS Loan Limits

Legacy: Parents who previously borrowed for their dependent student prior to July 1, 2026, can borrow Parent PLUS loans for the student for up to 3 years or their student's expected time to credential with no limits other than Cost of Attendance. Students must maintain concurrent enrollment. If they withdraw from a semester or don't attend a semester, they are no longer a legacy student. Expected time to credential is based on full-time enrollment. If a student is going to school part-time, they could lose legacy status due to this.

Annual limit: $20,000 per year, per student.
Lifetime limit: $65,000 aggregate per dependent student.

What "Expected Time to Credential" Means

Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), expected time to credential is used to determine how long certain students can remain eligible for “legacy” federal loan rules for Parent PLUS loans after those regulations are enforced beginning on July 1, 2026.

Expected time to credential is how much time a student should reasonably need to finish their current program, assuming full‑time enrollment, based on the program’s published length—minus the time they’ve already completed. The expected time to credential for a Bachelor’s Degree program is 4 years, attending full-time (12 credits or more) each semester.

Transferring and Change of Major/Programs

Students transferring from one institution to another or from an Associate Degree program to a Bachelor's Degree program will not be considered a legacy student. Undergraduate students will lose the Parent PLUS Loan legacy provision when this occurs and will be subject to the new annual and lifetime loan limits. This means if a parents has previously borrowed the annual or lifetime PLUS loan limits, they will not be able to borrow any more for that year or for that student's remaining time of enrollment.

Students cannot opt out of the legacy provisions. If they follow the guidelines, they will continue to be legacy students under the old rules for the next 3 years beginning Fall 2026.

Pell Grant Changes

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has tightened the regulations on who can receive the Federal Pell Grant. Below are those changes.

Higher Income Threshold (SAI Limit): Students whose Student Aid Index (SAI) is equal to or greater than twice the maximum Pell award (about $14,790 for 2026–27) will not be eligible — even if their income is lower. FSA Partner Connect
Students with Full Scholarships: If a student has enough non-federal scholarships and grants (like a full-ride scholarship) to cover their entire cost of attendance, they cannot also get a Pell Grant. NAICU
Foreign Income Counts for Eligibility: If a family has foreign earned income, it must now be included in calculating eligibility — which can raise the SAI and reduce or eliminate Pell eligibility. FSA Partner Connect

Together, these changes mean some students who previously qualified could lose Pell Grant eligibility.

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