One Big Beautiful Bill Act
President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law on July 4, 2025. While major elements—such as changes to federal student loans, eligibility caps, and new accountability measures—are now legally effective July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education has not yet released detailed implementation guidelines. We are closely monitoring policy updates, regulatory guidance, and FAQs, and will continue to update this page as information becomes available.
As of February 2026, here is what we know:
Graduate PLUS Loans
- This program is being phased out beginning July 1, 2026, and the program will not be available for new borrowers (i.e., students who have not borrowed federal loans in their current graduate program).
- For those who have borrowed federal loans for their current graduate program, you may have continued eligibility to borrow a Graduate PLUS Loan for the lesser of the next three academic years or until you complete your current graduate program.
New Lifetime Loan Limit for Graduate Students
- All other graduate programs have an annual loan limit of $20,500, which remains unchanged from prior years.
- A new lifetime borrowing limit of $100,000 for graduate study in comparison to the pre-July 1st loan limit of $138,500.
New Parent PLUS Loan Limits
- Starting July 1, 2026, Parent PLUS Loans will be capped at $20,000 per student per academic year. No longer will parents be able to borrow up to the cost of attendance.
- A new lifetime borrowing limit of $65,000 per dependent student, meaning your parent(s) may only borrow a maximum of $65,000 from the Parent PLUS program over the entirety.
Loan Reduction for Less than Full Time Enrollment
- Beginning July 1, 2026, a new loan reduction schedule will be in effect.
- Students at all grade levels who enroll in credits deemed less than the full-time minimum (9 credits for Graduate and 12 credits for undergraduates) may have their loans prorated.
- Loans are no longer tied to enrollment status, but now must be prorated based on credits, similar to the Federal Pell Grant program.
Interim Exception-Legacy
A student may qualify for an interim exception or legacy under the previous loan limits and qualify for a grad plus loan ONLY if:
- A student is continuously enrolled in the same school and program for three academic years or for the length of the program whichever is lesser.
- A Direct Loan disbursement prior to June 30th, 2026.
- Both Enrollment and institutional eligibility must be maintained to qualify.
- Once interim exception is broken, student or parent is subject to new loan limits under OB3.
- A student can break the interim exception by the following:
- Undergraduate students switch degree programs, i.e., Certificate to Associate, Associate to Bachelors
- Graduate students switch institutions or change credential level; and
- Thye are no longer in the same 4-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) code.
- Ceasing enrollment, withdrawing from the school.
The Office of Financial Aid will continue to monitor and make updates accordingly. If students have any questions we recommend contacting the office of financial aid.