Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 15

On Monday, the Education Department (ED) announced that it plans to resume collection activities on defaulted federal student loans beginning May 5, 2025. Recall that since March 2020, collection activities on federal student loans were paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to ED, four million borrowers are 91 to 180 days delinquent and there could potentially be as many as 10 million in default in a few months. ED plans to begin a “robust communication strategy” to alert defaulted borrowers of these actions and possible repayment options to avoid garnishment of wages, tax refunds, or Social Security benefits.

On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) related to accreditation which mentions three accreditors by name, including the American Bar Association (ABA), for being “improperly focused on compelling adoption of discriminatory ideology, rather than on student outcomes.” Regarding ABA specifically, the EO further states: 

The Attorney General and the Secretary of Education shall, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, investigate and take appropriate action to terminate unlawful discrimination by American law schools that is advanced by the Council, including unlawful “diversity, equity, and inclusion” requirements under the guise of accreditation standards. The Secretary of Education shall also assess whether to suspend or terminate the Council’s status as an accrediting agency under Federal law.

The Education Secretary is, among other things, instructed to: (1) recognize new accreditors, (2) mandate that accreditors require schools to use program-level data to improve outcomes, and (3) make it easier for schools to change accreditors.

The President also signed two other EOs related to higher education on foreign gift reporting and support for HBCUs.

Gallup and the Lumina Foundation discussed results on a podcast episode about the state of public trust in higher education, exploring topics such as trust metrics, return on investment, and how colleges can better align their offerings with workforce expectations. 

The Bipartisan Policy Center published a report on how the federal government could reform the student loan system to save billions of dollars.

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

S. 994 – PROTECT Students Act [Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL)] would establish uniform reporting and data collection practices for complaints against institutions and loan servicers, streamline the process for students to discharge loans after graduating from a discredited university, and hold institutions accountable for the accuracy for their job placement data. A companion bill, H.R. 2899, was introduced in the House by Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA-39).