The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) higher education provisions are effective July 1, and financial aid offices are on the front lines of putting them into practice.

Melanie Storey, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, joins hosts Mushtaq Gunja and Jon Fansmith to talk about the implementation challenges, from new program-level accountability requirements to the practical questions about student aid that campuses are working through.

Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:

"Uniform Guidance" Grantmaking Rule

Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance​ Federal Register | May 28, 2026​​ https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance

Summary: Office of M​anagement and Budget Government-Wide Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance ACE | June 16, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Summary-OMB-Federal-Financial-Assistance-Regs-060226.pdf

Sen. Collins Asks OMB to Withdraw Parts of Grant Rule, Extend Comment Period​ U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations | July 6, 2026 https://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news/majority/sen-collins-asks-omb-to-withdraw-parts-of-grant-rule-extend-comment-period

Comments Flood OMB Proposal to Cement Political Control of Grants Inside Higher Ed | July 7, 2026 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2026/07/07/comments-flood-omb-proposal-political-control

"Professional" Degree & Graduate Loan Limits Rule

Nursing Gains 'Professional' Label for Student Loans After Judge's Ruling, But Theology Now Dropped The Associated Press | June 29, 2026 https://apnews.com/article/nursing-student-loans-professional-caps-theology-061ef7c1a98688e5338ff5128821a7b9

Professional Degree Definition Remains Contested as Student Loan Changes Take Effect July 1 ACE | June 29, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/New-ED-Rules-in-Effect-July-1.aspx

Accountability Rule (Earnings Test)

U.S. Department of Education Issues Final Rule to Hold All Colleges and Universities Accountable for Low-Earning Programs Department of Education | June 29, 2026 https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-final-rule-hold-all-colleges-and-universities-accountable-low-earning-programs

Financial Aid Shift to Hit Low-Wage Fields Like Religion, Cosmetology and Arts The Washington Post | June 30, 2026 https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/06/30/bible-beauty-performing-arts-schools-face-cuts-financial-aid/

Comments on Education Department's Proposed Rule on Accountability ACE | May 20, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Comments-AHEAD-Accountability-NPRM-052026.pdf

OBBB Student Loan Changes

July 1 Brings Big Student Loan Changes. Here's What You Need to Know NPR | June 30, 2026 https://www.npr.org/2026/06/10/nx-s1-5835633/student-loans-guide-education-changes-repayment-plan

Comments on the Education Department's Implementation of OBBB Financial Aid Provisions​ ACE | March 2, 2026 Public Service Loan Forgiveness https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Comments-ED-RISE-030226.pdf

Judges Strike Down Trump's Restrictions on Loan Forgiveness for Public Servants The Washington Post | June 30, 2026 https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/06/30/court-strikes-down-trumps-limits-loan-forgiveness-public-servants/

Dear Colleague Letter on Housing

Dear Colleague Letter​​ HUD | June 23, 2026 https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28317431-06232026-as-trainors-dcl-on-racially-segregated-school-housing87/

Dear Colleague Letter Asks Colleges to End Affinity Housing​ Inside Higher Ed | June 26, 2026 Supreme Court Ruling on Transgender Athletes https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/2026/06/26/dear-colleague-letter-asks-colleges-end-affinity-housing

Supreme Court Decision on Transgender Athletes

Supreme Court Allows States to Bar Transgender Athletes From Girls' Sports The New York Times | June 30, 2026n https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/us/politics/supreme-court-transgender-athletes.html

The Department of Education is shifting civil rights investigations to the Department of Justice, a move that undermines the resolution-focused approach to resolving complaints that has supported students and campuses for decades.

The dotEDU team breaks down what this latest move to dismantle ED means for higher ed, along with the latest updates on the House FY 2027 spending bill, changes to the rules for how federal grants are awarded, and more.

Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:

U.S. Department of Education Announces Additional Partnerships to Strengthen Coordination for Individuals with Disabilities Programs, Bolster Civil Rights Enforcement https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-additional-partnerships-strengthen-coordination-individuals-disabilities-programs-bolster-civil-rights

Education Dept. Plans to Move Special Ed and Civil Rights Out of the Agency The Washington Post | June 16, 2026 https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2026/06/16/education-dept-plans-move-special-ed-civil-rights-out-agency/

Committee Approves FY27 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Act https://appropriations.house.gov/news/press-releases/committee-approves-fy27-labor-health-and-human-services-and-education

Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2027​ https://appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-appropriations.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fy27-labor-health-and-human-services-education-and-related-agencies-bill-subcommittee-summary.pdf

Higher Education Faces New Spending Limits as House Appropriations Bill Advances ACE | June 15, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/House-Committee-Passes-FY27-Labor-HHS-Bill.aspx

House Republicans Aim to Override Trump's Loan Limit Regulations Inside Higher Ed | June 12, 2026 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/student-aid-policy/2026/06/12/house-gop-tries-override-trumps-loan-limit

Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance Federal Register https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance

Office of Management and Budget Government-Wide Regulations for Federal Financial Assistance ACE | June 2, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/Documents/Summary-OMB-Federal-Financial-Assistance-Regs-060226.pdf

Judge Blocks USCIS Pause, but International Students Remain in Limbo​ Inside Higher Ed | June 16, 2026 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/global/international-students-us/2026/06/16/intl-students-still-limbo-even-uscis-pause-over

Remember the Dreamers https://www.rememberthedreamers.org/

The hosts talk live to an audience of ACE Fellows about the White House's new proposal to rewrite the rulebook that governs how campuses manage federal grant funds, along with other higher education policy developments we're watching this summer.

Here are some of the links mentioned in this week's show:

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards Department of Education https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/manage-your-grant/uniform-administrative-requirements-cost-principles-and-audit-requirements-for-federal-awards-us-department-of-education

Office of Management and Budget Proposed Rule on Uniform Guidance Federal Register | May 29, 2026 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/29/2026-10817/regulation-for-federal-financial-assistance

White House Aims to Establish Political Oversight of Federal Grants Inside Higher Ed | May 29, 2026 https://www.insidehighered.com/news/government/science-research-policy/2026/05/29/omb-proposes-rules-establishing-political

Negotiators Pass Draft Rules to Overhaul College Accreditation ACE | May 22, 2026 https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/Draft-Rules-Passed-to-Overhaul-Accreditation-.aspx

Yale University's Committee on Trust in Higher Education spent a year examining the forces behind declining public confidence in colleges and universities and came back with 20 recommendations for how institutions can respond. Julia Adams, cochair of the committee, walks us through the findings and what they might mean for campuses nationwide.

Here are links to the the report and the policy issues the hosts discuss:

Report of the Yale Committee on Trust in Higher Education (PDF) https://president.yale.edu/sites/default/files/2026-04/Report-of-the-Committee-on-Trust-in-Higher-Education.pdf

Reimagining and Improving Student Education-Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/01/2026-08556/reimagining-and-improving-student-education-federal-student-loan-program-final-regulations

The Rule That's Blocking the Next Generation of Health Care Workers Higher Education Today | May 12, 2026 https://www.higheredtoday.org/2026/05/11/the-rule-thats-blocking-healthcare-workers/

Education Department's Final Rule on Financial Aid Locks in Restrictive Graduate Loan Limits https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ED-Final-Rule-Locks-in-Restrictive-Grad-Loan-Limits-.aspx

Contact Congress: Help Students Access Professional Degree Programs https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/Campaigns/132758/Respond

Justice Denied: How Trump's Office for Civil Rights Reached a 12-Year Low in Protecting Students from Discrimination https://www.sanders.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/04.24.26-Justice-Denied-How-Trumps-Office-for-Civil-Rights-Reached-a-12-Year-Low-in-Protecting-Students-from-Discrimination_FINAL.pdf

Court blocks Education Department's data demands for over 170 more colleges Higher Ed Dive | April 27, 2026 https://www.highereddive.com/news/education-department-acts-survey-preliminary-injunction/818620/

The landscape for federal TRIO programs has shifted dramatically since we talked about it in January. The Department of Education (ED) has issued new grant proposals that would cut the number of programs by more than half and fundamentally redirect TRIO away from its mission of college access.

We welcomed back Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, to walk us through what's at stake for these programs and the students they serve. The hosts also give the latest updates on ED's negotiated rulemaking.

Links:

U.S. Department of Education Issues Proposed Rule to Hold Colleges and Universities Accountable for Low Earning Outcomes https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-issues-proposed-rule-hold-colleges-and-universities-accountable-low-earning-outcomes

ED Pushes Ahead on Accreditation Overhaul Despite Negotiator Pushback https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ED-Pushes-Ahead-on-Accreditation-Overhaul.aspx

Accreditation discussion draft https://www.ed.gov/media/document/2026-negotiated-rulemaking-aim-aim-draft-regulations-version-11-updated-04172026-113722.pdf

Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Foreign Gifts and Contracts Disclosures Federal Register | April 15, 2026 https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/04/15/2026-07304/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-foreign-gifts-and-contracts-disclosures

What drove Hampshire College to shutter, despite raising $55 million The Christian Science Monitor | April 18, 2026 https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2026/0418/hampshire-college-closure-endowment

Council for Opportunity in Education and TRIO Programs https://coenet.org/coe-and-trio-programs/

COE Trio Advocacy https://coenet.org/take-action-now/

The Council for Opportunity in Education Condemns Latest TRIO Grant Proposal, Calls It "Direct Assault on College Access" https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/the-council-for-opportunity-in-education-condemns-latest-trio-grant-proposal-calls-it-direct-assault-on-college-access/

COE Blasts Latest Federal Proposal for TRIO, Calls for Immediate Rescission https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/coe-blasts-latest-federal-proposal-for-trio-calls-for-immediate-rescission/

COE Rejects Proposal to Eliminate Federal TRIO Programs in FY 2027 Budget Council for Opportunity in Education | https://coenet.org/news-impact/press-release/coe-rejects-proposal-to-eliminate-federal-trio-programs-in-fy-2027-budget/

Colleges have spent years building systems to help students vote. Now a mix of federal guidance, investigations, and state-level changes is putting new pressure on that work. ACE General Counsel Peter McDonough joins us to explain where the legal lines are and where uncertainty is creating risk. But first, the hosts discuss the recent higher education policy developments from the past few weeks, from the Trump administration's FY 2027 budget proposal to the Education Department's draft rule on accreditation.

The hosts are joined by ACE's Emmanual Guillory to break down key federal rulemaking shaping student aid. The conversation focuses on the latest developments in graduate loan limits, new rules for Workforce Pell and what it will take for institutions to participate, and the Department of Education's expanded IPEDS data collection.

At ACEx2026 in Washington, DC, the dotEDU team recorded a special live episode during a session at the ACE Annual Meeting. Instead of the usual format, hosts Mushtaq Gunja, Sarah Spreitzer, and Jon Fansmith took turns posing questions to each other about the direction of federal higher education policy in 2026: how it may differ from the first year of President Trump's second term, what the year's major policy stories could be, where their lobbying efforts have and have not gained traction, and how to advocate effectively for colleges and universities in a contentious environment. The episode concludes with questions from the audience.

The hosts run a rapid-fire policy lightning round on the biggest higher ed issues right now, from federal funding and a looming Pell shortfall to new graduate loan limits. They also dig into two fast-moving flashpoints: the Education Department's scrutiny of a long-running student voting study and the administration's escalating actions aimed at Harvard, including potential impacts on service members' education benefits. Plus, an update on Sarah's favorite topic, Section 117 foreign gift reporting.

Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:

How Congress's Budget Could Hamper Trump ED Agenda Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 12, 2026

National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement

U.S. Department of Education Takes Actions to Protect Integrity of U.S. Elections Department of Education | Feb. 5. 2026

Education Dept. Tells Universities Not to Use Student Voting Data Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 5, 2026

dotEDU: Debates, Flies, and Political Engagement at the University of Utah

New SAVE Act Bills Would Still Block Millions of Americans From Voting Brennan Center for Justice | Feb. 9, 2026

dotEDU: What the Headlines Miss About Higher Ed: A Conversation with Kirk Carapezza

Justice Department Sues Harvard for Admissions Records The New York Times | Feb. 13, 2026

Department of Defense Severs Academic Ties With Harvard Inside Higher Ed | Feb. 10, 2026

Reimagining and Improving Student Education Federal Register | Jan. 30, 2026

Summary: ​The U.S. Department of Education's Proposal on OBBB RISE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ACE

**Contact Congress to Urge a Broader Professional Degree Definition**

U.S. Department of Education Announces Negotiated Rulemaking to Reform and Strengthen America's Higher Education Accreditation System Department of Education | Jan. 26, 2026

U.S. Department of Education Issues Proposed Interpretive Rule to Eliminate the Use of "Regional" by Accrediting Agencies Department of Education | Feb. 13, 2026

Section 117 Foreign Gift and Contract Public Transparency Dashboard Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education Releases Latest Foreign Funding Disclosures from Federally-Funded American Universities Department of Education | Feb. 11, 2026

The national conversation about higher education shifted dramatically in 2025. In this episode recorded in Boston in December, Jon Fansmith and Mushtaq Gunja talk with GBH News correspondent Kirk Carapezza about the reporting landscape and the pressures facing colleges beyond the headlines.

Here are some of the links and references from this week's show:

Brandeis bets big on rebuilding the liberal arts around real-world skills GBH | Dec. 2, 2025

Colleges hope to 'AI-proof' their offerings as new tech changes job expectations GBH | Oct. 29, 2025

Local colleges targeted amid growing campus culture wars GBH | Sept. 24, 2025

College Uncovered Season 4: The Demographic Cliff

College Uncovered Season 4 Bonus: The New College Compact

College Uncovered Season 2, Episode 4: Closing Time

Amherst College: 1,900 Students, 850 Courses. What's Not To Like? On Campus | Aug. 3, 2016