By SUSAN JONES
Much of the attention around the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump on July 3 has centered around cuts to Medicaid, but there are plenty of ways the policy bill will impact higher education.
The bill:
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Eliminates Grad PLUS loans and place limits on direct graduate loans, restricting graduate and professional students to a lifetime total of $100,000 and $200,000, respectively, starting next July.
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Caps Parent PLUS loans at $65,000 per student, also starting in July 2026.
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Expands the Pell Grant to short-term job-training programs, but excludes unaccredited providers. The bill also will put $10 billion into the Pell Grant program in October to address a shortfall.
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Phases out most current student loan repayment plans, forcing borrowers to enroll in an income-based repayment plan or the Repayment Assistance Plan, which could result in higher monthly costs or longer payment periods.
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Raises taxes on the endowments of the wealthiest private colleges and universities in July 2026 from the existing flat 1.4% rate to either 4% (for schools with endowments worth $750,000 to $1.99 million per full-time equivalent student) or 8% (for those with endowments worth $2 million and up per student). Schools with an endowment per student rate of $500,000 to $750,000 will continue to pay a 1.4% tax. Schools with fewer than 3,000 tuition-paying students, such as Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore in Pennsylvania, are exempt, regardless of their endowment size. Public colleges, like Pitt, are not subject to the tax.
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Imposes accountability measures that tie a university program’s access to federal loans to how much its students earn after graduation.
Many of these policy changes will be overseen by the federal Department of Education, which the Trump administration still plans to dissolve or at least severely shrink.
In addition, states like Pennsylvania will be grappling with cuts to Medicaid subsidies and will have to look for ways to make up that loss, which could impact funding of public universities. The cuts to Medicaid and other safety net systems also will impact low-income students directly, making it harder for them to pay for college.
Susan Jones is editor of the University Times. Reach her at suejones@pitt.edu or 724-244-4042.
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