The ripple effects on enrollment, federal student-loan funding and the broader education ecosystem.

Description

On July 11, 2025, President Trump quietly signed the “Big Beautiful Bill,”- a bill over 850 pages that authorizes a sweeping tax-and-spending package that goes far beyond cuts to income tax and Medicaid. Buried within the legislation are major education provisions: the elimination of Grad Plus loans, strict new caps on Parent Plus borrowing, consolidation of repayment plans, and the nation’s first federal school-voucher tax credit. These changes cut billions in federal student-loan funding- transforming how families finance everything from kindergarten through higher education. This session will unpack the bill’s provisions, assess early reactions from universities, lenders and states, and explore the ripple effects on enrollment, private-loan markets and the broader education ecosystem.

Speakers

Elaine Maag

Senior Fellow, Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center

Wil Del Pilar

Senior Vice President, EdTrust

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Investigations Manager, New America

Steven Bloom

Assistant Vice President, Government Relations, American Council on Education

Guided Questions

Wil Del Pilar

Drawing on your extensive work advocating for equity in higher education, how might the Big Beautiful Bill’s endowment tax provisions affect colleges’ capacity to provide scholarships and financial aid, particularly to low-income students and students of color?

Elaine Maag

Given your expertise on taxation and family economic stability, how might the tax changes and loan restrictions introduced by the Big Beautiful Bill impact the financial pressures experienced by middle-income families trying to afford college?

Jeremy Bauer-Wolf

Considering your expertise on policy impacts at colleges and universities, how do you expect institutions, especially those reliant on federal loan dollars, to adapt their practices—such as admissions strategies, tuition pricing, or student support programs—in response to these sweeping federal changes?

Steven Bloom

With your extensive experience in government relations within higher education, how do you see institutions adapting to the amended endowment tax provisions introduced by the “Big Beautiful Bill”?