{"id":40262,"date":"2026-01-19T11:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=40262"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:10:08","slug":"student-loan-reforms-risk-hit-to-us-university-tuition-revenue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/?p=40262","title":{"rendered":"Student loan reforms risk hit to US university tuition revenue"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free<\/p>\n<p class=\"article__content-sign-up-topic-description o3-type-body-base\">Your guide to what Trump\u2019s second term means for Washington, business and the world<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"article__content-sign-up-iframe close\" scrolling=\"no\" id=\"signUpIframe\" data-prev-url=\"\/register\/in-article-sign-up?ft-content-uuid=9b5273e0-f555-42bf-bfda-0b04e0f05015&amp;newsletter-id=65b8fec772badb00166eafc6\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>US universities risk losing out on billions of dollars in tuition fees, as the Trump administration\u2019s plan to cap federal student loans for graduate degrees threatens to reduce enrolment.<\/p>\n<p>Up to $10bn in existing aid would exceed borrowing limits set to come into force in July, with more than 160,000 students expected to struggle to find alternative sources of finance, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.peer-center.org\/research\/student-loans-grad-school-cfi-special-report\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">analysis<\/a> from researchers at American University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe risk of the \u2018hit\u2019 to institutions is greater than that, because if borrowers can\u2019t find alternative financing they\u2019ll lose the students\u2019 entire tuition \u2014 not just the loan volume over the cap,\u201d said Jordan Matsudaira at American University\u2019s Postsecondary Education and Economics Research centre.<\/p>\n<p>Universities have already been dealt severe blows as the Trump administration has cut grants, launched legal attacks on institutions and sought to restrict international student visas. The moves have contributed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/7a4860bc-061c-40d0-bf3b-2385977b84d7\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">17 per cent decline<\/a> in new foreign students, according to a survey of 825 schools. <\/p>\n<div id=\"sdgqdquc\" class=\"n-content-layout\" data-component=\"flourish\" data-component-id=\"26215902\" data-component-type=\"flourish-in-article\">\n<figure class=\"n-content-picture n-content-layout__container\"><a href=\"#26215902\"><picture data-asset-type=\"flourish\" data-flourish-id=\"26215902\" data-flourish-type=\"visualisation\">\n<div id=\"26215902\" class=\"cp-message o-message o-message--inform o-message--notice\" data-o-component=\"o-message\">\n<div class=\"o-message__container\">\n<div class=\"o-message__content\">\n<p class=\"o-message__content-main\">Some content could not load. Check your internet connection or browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/picture><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>As part of President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d act, graduate students\u2019 federal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/student-finance\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">loans<\/a> will be limited to $50,000 a year for programmes considered \u201cprofessional\u201d, including law and medicine, and $20,500 for other graduate programmes, such as nursing and business. <\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration has portrayed the new borrowing caps, due to come into force in July, as a way to reduce the overall amount of federal student loans, which has soared to $1.65tn from $260bn in 2004, according to the New York Fed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese loan limits will help drive down the cost of graduate programmes and reduce the debt students have to take out,\u201d the Department of Education said in a statement. <\/p>\n<p>But education experts fear that the limits will cause fewer people to pursue graduate studies, as many of them \u2014 especially lower-income students \u2014 will struggle to afford more expensive private top-up loans.<\/p>\n<p>Private loans tend to have higher interest rates and require credit records or parental support that those on lower incomes may be unable to secure. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of higher ed experts \u2014 and I agree \u2014 think imposing some type of limits on graduate borrowing is a good idea,\u201d Matsudaira said. \u201cBut I believe the limits are too blunt, and a better policy would be to have the limits vary based on the typical earnings in the fields students are training for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is particular concern from institutions offering degrees no longer considered \u201cprofessional\u201d under the new rules, including business and nursing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/us-universities\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">Schools<\/a> that offer these types of programmes have lobbied to reclassify them as professional degrees in order for their students to be eligible for higher federal funding limits. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cBusiness degrees have long been widely recognised as professional degrees, contributing to a strong, sustainable and vibrant economy\u2009.\u2009.\u2009.\u2009Proposed changes to the graduate student loan landscape risk limiting access for thousands of students and disrupting this positive trend,\u201d said Lily Bi, president of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.<\/p>\n<aside aria-labelledby=\"aside-label\" class=\"n-content-recommended--single-story n-content-recommended--inset\" data-component=\"recommended\">\n<p class=\"n-content-recommended__title o3-type-body-highlight\">Recommended<\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser o-teaser--article o-teaser--small o-teaser--stacked o-teaser--has-image js-teaser\" data-id=\"3f496166-4292-46af-b690-114a4d2b3fd0\">\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-container js-teaser-image-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/3f496166-4292-46af-b690-114a4d2b3fd0\" data-trackable=\"image-link\" data-trackable-context-story-link=\"image-link\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"o-teaser__image-placeholder\" style=\"aspect-ratio:2048\/1152\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"o-teaser__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/__origami\/service\/image\/v2\/images\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fimages.ft.com%2Fv3%2Fimage%2Fraw%2Fhttps%253A%252F%252Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%252Fproduction%252Feb2adeee-f6b5-4ef6-9584-6e23b726df4c.jpg%3Fsource%3Dnext-article%26fit%3Dscale-down%26quality%3Dhighest%26width%3D700%26dpr%3D1?source=next&amp;fit=scale-down&amp;dpr=2&amp;width=240\" alt=\"\"\/><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Others have pointed out that the lower loan limits for certain degrees could lead to a shortage of workers in those fields. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf not corrected, this policy would create a barrier for many nurses seeking to advance their education, reduce access to patient care and impact the stability of the nursing workforce,\u201d the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said. <\/p>\n<p>The education department has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ed.gov\/about\/news\/press-release\/myth-vs-fact-definition-of-professional-degrees\" title=\"\" data-trackable=\"link\">accused critics<\/a> of \u201cfear mongering\u201d and stressed that most nursing students earned their degrees as undergraduates, who are not subject to the new caps. The majority of nurses seeking graduate degrees in nursing borrowed below the new threshold amount, the department said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9b5273e0-f555-42bf-bfda-0b04e0f05015\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free Your guide to what Trump\u2019s second term means for Washington,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40263,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us","cs-entry","cs-video-wrap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40262"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40262\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/financialrush.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}