Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 10 - Issue 4

This Week In Washington

Earlier this week, the Department of Education (ED) announced plans to begin rulemaking to update the college accreditation and oversight system. As part of this effort, ED will establish the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Committee, which is intended to support the Administration’s goals of expanding access for new accreditors and revisiting current diversity, equity, and inclusion standards.

Late last week, ED requested an extension for processing student loan forgiveness applicants affected by fraud. The request was filed only a few weeks after a federal judge rejected a similar request made by the department. This is the latest development in the Sweet v. Cardona (now Sweet v. McMahon) settlement agreement. This settlement, which was approved in 2022, resolved a long-running class action lawsuit where the class of borrowers alleged ED had unlawfully delayed processing thousands of Borrower Defense applications, leaving many borrowers in limbo for years.

News You Can Use

The Institute for College Access and Success released “Trends in Private Loan Borrowing Among Graduate and Professional Students”. The report anticipates that the termination of the Grad PLUS Program will likely drive professional students into the private loan market.

The Postsecondary Education and Economics Research Center published an analysis of graduate program completion rates. While legal education has higher completion rates than other graduate programs, students who do not complete often carry substantial student loan debt.

Business Insider reported that student borrowers are experiencing uncertainty about student loan repayment. The article discusses how recent changes in court rulings involving SAVE borrowers and borrowers in default are making it challenging for borrowers to financially prepare.

Recent Legislation

The following bill(s) have been recently introduced for consideration by the 119th Congress (2025-26):

H.R. 7232 – Alleviating Intergenerational Debt (AID) [Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI-11)] would update the Student Aid Index formula to include outstanding parental student loan debt, giving financial aid administrators a clearer picture of family finances for students. The AID Act would also require ED to report annually on how many students benefit from this allowance, how much students receive on average, and how impacts differ for Pell Grant recipients.