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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Just how tough is the political and policy climate for colleges right now?
The answer might depend on the institution — for example, whether it is the target of a Trump administration investigation or has seen a substantial decrease in international enrollment as a result of the administration’s efforts to tighten visas for foreign students.
Rapidly shifting policies were top of mind for higher education experts at the National Association of College and University Business Officers’ annual conference this week.
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Last year, colleges faced plenty of disruption, especially after President Donald Trump signed a massive spending and tax bill that included major changes to federal higher education policy, such as more restrictions on student lending. And those shifts continue today, as Congress works on a fiscal 2027 budget and the U.S. Department of Education moves swiftly to write and enforce new regulations.
At a Monday panel, American Council on Education President Ted Mitchell said his organization has had to toss out its policy wish list from before the 2024 presidential election — a set of priorities that it would have pursued regardless of who won.
“We have moved more into a defensive posture,” he said.
How will new loan caps impact higher ed?
Perhaps chief among the major policy changes weighing on college finance and legal teams — mentioned in multiple panels at the NACUBO conference — are new limits on federal student lending. Those include the sunsetting of the Grad PLUS loan program and lifetime caps on student borrowing.
On Sunday, NACUBO Education Policy Director Bryan Dickson called the loan policies “one of the most impactful changes” since Trump came to office.
Mitchell echoed that comment, saying on Monday that many institutions will face negative consequences from the government’s tighter lending.
But even with new laws and regulations on the books, colleges face uncertainty — both about the policy’s ultimate effects and final state.
One key aspect of the Education Department’s final regulations on the loan caps is in legal limbo. That’s the definition of what constitutes a “professional” degree, a distinction that allows students to borrow up to $200,000 versus half that amount for all other graduate degrees.
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In June, a federal court temporarily blocked the department’s highly narrow definition of professional degrees,which recognized just 11 fields and excluded many others such asnursing, physical therapy and education. Instead, the department must use existing regulations that Congress cited in the statute.
Beyond the court fight, questions remain about how the federal loan caps will impact student demand for graduate education and whether other players will fill in the gaps. That group includes Connecticut and Minnesota, which have created their own student loan programs for graduate students. It could also include colleges themselves and their endowments.
However, many colleges are financially constrained and don’t have the resources to finance students themselves, said Melanie Storey, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, during a NACUBO keynote panel Monday.
There’s also the private market, which many expected would provide graduate student lending products as it did prior to the creation of the Grad PLUS program roughly 20 years ago. So far, few options have materialized.
“We certainly did not see any quick entry into this space,” said Liz Clark, NACUBO’s vice president of policy and research, a point reiterated by others at the conference.
One potential issue is borrower creditworthiness. The Grad PLUS program had few restrictions on who could borrow. But private lenders likely have stricter credit requirements. That could create new barriers to accessing graduate education, NACUBO President and CEO Kara Freemansaid at the Monday keynote.
Loretta Martinez, senior vice president and general counsel at Loyola Marymount University, echoed that concern in a separate panel Monday. For some economically disadvantaged students, it will be “harder and harder” for them to enter certain professions, she said.
Rather than cut tuition prices — as supporters of the loan caps hope and anticipate will happen — institutions may shorten the time to complete degrees and create extended payment plans for students to help them cope with financing gaps, according to Freeman.
Federal investigations and threats loom large
Despite court and congressional setbacks, the Trump administration has found other ways to impose its will onto the higher education sector outside of the normal governing channels.
Martinez described a “shock and awe” campaign by the administration shortly after Trump’s inauguration. That consisted of executive orders, threats and investigations that conveyed the administration’s policy aims, including rooting out diversity, equity and inclusion infrastructure.
That campaign was largely successful, according to Martinez, who pointed to institutions that have dismantled their DEI offices or reframed those efforts. “We all wanted to avoid being a target,” she said.
Going forward, another potential tool of the administration is the False Claims Act, which federal officials have signaledcould be used to enforce its interpretation of civil rights lawand go after diversity initiatives.
Those actions could potentially center on certifications signed by researchers and college officials assuring the government that their institution is in compliance with federal law, panelists said.
At Martinez’s institution, such certifications are signed at the provost level. That has eased “faculty fear and trepidation” about being potential legal targets, she said.
More broadly, the Trump administration has disrupted some basic certainties built into the regulatory, policy and legal landscape.
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Martinez described “a loss of predictability of how the government works, how the courts work, whether the government pays attention to what the courts say, and the issue of the rule of law, which is so fundamental to what we do at your institutions.”
She added, “The rug was pulled out from under us.”
Is it all bad?
Clark told conference attendees that the news is not all bad. Or at least, the policy developments of the past year and a half are not as bad for the sector as they could have been.
“A year ago, we were all sitting here wringing our hands,” Clark said Sunday.
She emphasized the role of Congress, the courts and higher education advocacy in heading off some of the most potentially damaging policies during Trump’s second term.
That includes blocking — via both the courts and Congress — the Trump administration’s efforts to cap indirect cost funding for research at multiple agencies. Such limits would mean cuts of tens of millions of federal funding dollars for some large research universities.
“There is actually a lot of good news,” Clark said. “You don’t have to lean into that negativity bias and believe all of the negative headlines.”
The good news includes overall increases in enrollment and the smooth functioning of therevamped Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Clark also highlighted that Congress rejected sharp cuts to higher ed programs and science research funding requested by the Trump administration for fiscal 2026 — including reductions to the Pell Grant program,elimination of fundingfor the TRIO program and massive cuts to Federal Work-Study.
“Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have something to say” about policy, Clark said.