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• Reductions to USDE
• Financial Aid
• Data, Statistics, and Research
• DEI and MSI
• Immigrant-Origin and International Students
• Campus Safety and Non-Discrimination
• Title IX

Changes to Federal Financial Aid, Grants, and Loans

Higher education leaders have raised serious concerns regarding the impact the recent executive orders and staffing cuts could have on the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA), which manages more than $100 billion in student loans annually and oversees the distribution of Pell Grants. According to听, some of the deepest cuts have occurred within FSA, particularly in offices that work directly on policy, borrower assistance, and institutional oversight. Experts have warned that these staff layoffs could result in delayed financial aid processing, reduced enforcement of borrower protections, and increased confusion for students and institutions navigating federal aid programs.

In March 2025, the Trump Administration听听that the Small Business Administration would be taking over the $1.6听trillion federal student loan portfolio. The federal student loan portfolio is currently overseen by FSA, and federal law requires USDE to manage student loans. This move was blocked by a judge, and in March 2026, the Trump Administration announced that the federal student loan portfolio would be transferred to the Treasury Department. This transfer is meant to occur in three stages: the first stage would have the Treasury Department assuming responsibility for collecting on defaulted student loans, the second stage would have the Treasury Department assuming responsibility for servicing the remaining federal student loans, and the final stage would have the Treasury Department taking over other key responsibilities, such as administering the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The move is facing pushback from some elected officials and an investigation from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).听 听 听 听

Although there is much uncertainty related to administrative oversight and staffing related to federal financial aid, it is expected that federal student loans, like other forms of federal financial aid, will continue to be disbursed as long as Congress keeps the programs around. Laws already passed by Congress obligate the government to continue overseeing student loans. The is still up and running and available for student access, and New York State (NYS) continues to implement its to serve students and families seeking financial aid.

, which promises student loan forgiveness for any borrower who works 10 years in public service, was created by an act of Congress and only an act of Congress can shut it down. The Trump administration issued an calling for restrictions on who qualifies for PSLF. In late October 2025, the federal Department of Education issued its to exclude as qualifying employment for PSLF organizations that engage in activities indicative of 鈥渟ubstantial illegal purpose.鈥� The activities indicative of a substantial illegal purpose include aiding and abetting violations of Federal immigration laws, supporting terrorism or engaging in violence for the purpose of obstructing or influencing Federal Government policy, engaging in the chemical and surgical castration or mutilation of children in violation of Federal or state law, engaging in the trafficking of children to another State for purposes of emancipation from their lawful parents in violation of Federal or State law, engaging in a pattern of aiding and abetting illegal discrimination, and engaging in a pattern of violating State laws. New York State has joined a coalition of twenty-one other states to challenge these changes in a ,听and in June 2026, two federal judges blocked these changes to the PSLF program.

There have also been major cuts to regional offices of the , including the New York/Boston School Participation Section. The group has historically managed universities鈥� eligibility for federal grants, provided regulatory support to individual institutions, investigated fraud, evaluated new programs and approved mergers, among other responsibilities. Many higher education experts have reported that the cuts have resulted in confusion, disruption, and major authorization delays for colleges and universities across the country.

As part of the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Reconciliation Package, there have been several changes to financial aid and student loans and borrowing limits for graduate education have been put into place. Grad PLUS loans will be eliminated, unsubsidized federal loans for graduate school will have an annual cap of $20,500 and a lifetime cap of $100,000, unsubsidized federal loans for professional school will have an annual cap of $50,000 and a lifetime cap of $200,000, and Parent PLUS loans will have an annual cap of $20,000 per-student and a lifetime cap of $65,000 per-student. Change to PLUS loans will start July 1, 2026, but current student loan borrowers participating in the PLUS loan program will be grandfathered in so long as they have no more than three academic years left to complete their program as of June 30, 2026.

The distinction between which programs qualify as 鈥減rofessional鈥� for the purposes of having access to the higher borrowing limit is being challenged in court, and in June of 2026, a federal judge temporarily blocked the change, which would have subjected 29 different programs, including nursing and speech-language pathology programs, to the lower borrowing limit. The ruling does not change the loan caps, just the more limited definition of what counts as a 鈥減rofessional鈥� degree, and the case is still making its way through the courts. Additionally, New York has joined twenty-four other states in challenging the loan caps in court, citing the negative impact the changes would have on student pursuing careers in critical healthcare fields.

The bill also makes changes to streamline student loan repayment options. New loans issued starting July 1, 2026 will be repaid using either a Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) or the Tiered Standard repayment plan. RAP payments will be 1-10% of a borrower鈥檚 income as determined by adjusted gross income and family size, with loan cancellation after 30 years of payment. RAP waives interest that payments do not cover so loan balances do not balloon over time. RAP also provides a matching principal payment benefit; if a borrower鈥檚 on-time payment does not reduce the principal by at least $50, the USDE will provide a matching payment of up to $50 each month. Additionally, payments are reduced by $50 a month for each dependent. The Tiered Standard repayment plan offers fixed loan repayment terms in tiers of 10, 15, 20, or 25 years based on the amount borrowed.听Borrowers who took out loans prior to July 1, 2026 will still have access to the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan. However, the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plan, and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plan will no longer be available, and borrowers on these plans would need to switch to RAP, IBR, or the Tiered Standard plan before July 1, 2028.

As of March 2026, there are close to 43 million federal student loan borrowers and the federal student loan portfolio totals $1.7 trillion dollars. Close to 3 million borrowers are delinquent (payments 30-270 days past due) and roughly 9 million are in default (payments over 270 days past due). Additionally, approximately 8 million borrowers have at least one loan in forbearance and roughly 3 million have at least one loan in deferment. Borrowers who default on their student loans can face wage garnishment as well as damage to their credit score, negatively affecting their ability to qualify for home or auto loans as well as apartment rentals.

The bill also makes some changes to Pell Grants and FAFSA eligibility that begin on July 1, 2026. Workforce Pell Grants will be available to qualifying students to cover the cost of eligible short-term workforce training programs, such as coding bootcamps and HVAC and plumbing training courses. Federal regulations require state governors to establish policies and processes to determine which programs meet the eligibility requirements of Workforce Pell, including value added earnings, completion rate, and graduation rate requirements.听Additionally, students who receive full cost-of-attendance scholarships will no longer be eligible for Pell Grants. The FAFSA eligibility formula will also be revised to exclude family farm, small business, and fishing business assets.

The bill also introduces for Title IV student loan eligibility. For undergraduate programs, the median graduate of a program four years after graduation must earn more than the median 25鈥�34-year-old worker with only a high school diploma in that state, for two out of three consecutive years. For graduate programs, the median graduate of a program four years after graduation must ear more than the lesser of the following for two out of three consecutive years: the median 25-34 year-old worker with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in that state, the median 25-34 year-old worker with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in the same field of study in that state, or the median 25-34-year-old US worker with a bachelor's degree in in the same field of study. Programs that fail the new accountability metric two out of three consecutive years would lose access to federal student loans for a period of at least two years. A final ruling was announce in June 2026, and the statutory accountability provisions are scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2027.听

Federal Challenges to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Minority Serving Institution (MSI) Grants

The federal government has issued many (EOs) that affect higher education, including several executive orders targeting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Of note, USDE鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights issued a February 14, 2025听 (DCL) asserting that educational institutions receiving federal funds must stop using race preferences and stereotypes as a factor in admissions, promotions, prizes, sanctions, or any other campus program or activity. The DCL also stated that relying on non-racial information as a proxy for race will also be prohibited. The SHEEO summary of the DCL can be found . Following the DCL, USDE鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights released a list of (FAQs). The FAQ document answers 15 questions related to racial preferences and stereotypes under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, clarifying issues and concepts raised in the DCL. Several lawsuits have challenged the DCL and federal judges have ruled it is . In January 20263, the Trump Administration withdrew its appeal, and the DCL is unenforceable.

Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) have been negatively affected by this focus on eliminating DEI. MSI鈥� is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide range of institutions鈥攊ncluding Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), historically Black colleges and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander鈥搒erving institutions鈥攚hich have some core characteristics in common. They鈥檙e federally designated to serve underrepresented students (including low-income and first generation college students), have dedicated federal funding and tend to be under resourced. At least 700 federally designated MSIs serve upward of five million students.听

In July 2025, the U.S. Solicitor General issued a听听that the HSI programs 鈥渧iolate the equal-protection component of the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause,鈥� and that the Department of Justice would not defend them in ongoing litigation. In September 2025, USDE issued a press release noting that racial quotas in HSI were unconstitutional and there were similar concerns with MSI programs. As a result, USDE announced that it will end discretionary funding to several MSI grant programs that discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas. The discretionary grant programs that USDE will cease to fund will include both 2025 new awards and non-competing continuations, and USDE will reprogram approximately $350 million in funding from the following:

• Strengthening Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Predominantly Black Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Asian American- and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Strengthening Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Title III Part A);
• Minority Science and Engineering Improvement (Title III Part E);
• Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (Title V Part A); and
• Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (Title V Part B).

Impact on DEI and MSI in NYS Higher Education

Adhering to its mission to raise the knowledge, skill, and opportunity of all the people in New York, the New York State Education Department (小妲己直播) and Board of Regents affirms its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion at schools and colleges across the state. NYS has a long history as one of the most proactive states in addressing access and opportunity for students and residents navigating college and career pathways. The state has numerous postsecondary opportunity programs that serve our underrepresented and under-resourced students, including STEP, CSTEP, HEOP, , , and LPP.

In recent months and years, there have been legal developments that have affected race and ethnicity considerations for academic policies, programs, and initiatives. Many stakeholders have asked 小妲己直播 for guidance on these issues as they navigate challenges affecting their programs and institutions, particularly those challenges related to the statutory and regulatory provisions for STEP and CSTEP, which include eligibility criteria which reference historically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged target populations. Accordingly, 小妲己直播 has issued a guidance memo allowing institutions the flexibility of recruitment, selection, and enrollment of new students for STEP and CSTEP based solely on economic-based eligibility standards. This represents updated guidance and solutions as we engage in next steps related to the current STEP litigation and potential statutory and regulatory language revisions. While 小妲己直播 remains committed to defending the STEP and CSTEP programs and their historic mission to increase access and opportunity for historically underrepresented students in the scientific, technical, and health-related professions, we recognize the need to provide clarity and support to the field during this period of legal uncertainty.

Recognizing its place as one of the most diverse secondary and postsecondary systems of education in the nation, there are a number of partnership programs and initiatives at our schools and college campuses serving students of historically underserved backgrounds, including first-generation, immigrant-origin, and LGBTQI students: My Brother鈥檚 Keeper, , , and . The state is also committed to the growing number of postsecondary students with disabilities at our college campuses, and 小妲己直播 has advocated for a significant increase in the Postsecondary Students with Disabilities grant initiative.

Home to 38 , including (HSI), NYS has one of the largest, as well as most inclusive and diverse, postsecondary student body. Additionally, NYS has a sizeable international student cohort (10%) that is nearly double the country鈥檚 international college student average enrollment. NYS colleges and universities include faculty and students from nearly every corner of the globe.

While there are still important gaps to fill related to degree attainment for underrepresented groups nationally and in NYS, the Education Trust issued reports which noted that NYS ranks in the top 10 of the nation for and for Our opportunity programs and diversity initiatives have been instrumental in closing the opportunity gaps that exist at our schools and colleges and in the workforce, and we cannot risk losing progress on these important mechanisms that allow our colleges to be engines of economic and social mobility.

小妲己直播鈥檚 Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has been engaged in initiatives to enhance the capacity of educators and educational leaders and to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion within New York State schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs). The office has been building networks, capacity, and resources to expand upon the principles highlighted in the Culturally Responsive Sustaining Education (CRSE) Framework.

The Office of Higher Education is also helping to implement one of the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures: Incorporate the principles of the CRSE Framework into the teacher preparation program standards to ensure that educators are fully prepared to teach in diverse and inclusive school settings across the state.

小妲己直播鈥檚 Educator Diversity Report highlights the large gaps in teacher and school leader diversity and underscores the need for proactive, comprehensive initiatives that address the educator and school leader diversity gap, such as My Brother鈥檚 Keeper- Teacher Opportunity Corps II (TOC II), , and Grow Your Own.听

The current NYS Statewide Plan for Higher Education initiative includes diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education as one of the five priority areas. Every eight years, the Board of Regents, in collaboration with the higher education community, develops and adopts the Statewide Plan. The Statewide Plan sets higher education system goals and objectives and addresses priority matters of statewide concern to the State鈥檚 residents, workforce, and community as well as our IHEs.

For the Statewide Plan, the Regents have identified priority topics of concern for consideration by New York鈥檚 higher education system and ask institutions to focus on them, within their individual missions, as they develop new master plans. Access and opportunity are important threads across the five priority topics: 1. Engaging in collaborative, mutually beneficial partnerships with the P-12 community to strengthen the P-20 system; 2. Ensuring equity, diversity, and inclusion in the P-20 system, including students in the educator and licensed professional career tracks; 3. Improving accessibility, student support services, and academic outcomes; 4. Preparing students for the current and future needs of communities, society, and the workforce; and 5. Transforming operations, structures, and programs in response to the evolving higher education landscape, student profiles, and demographics.

Challenges to DEI and the Impact on Accreditation

A number of include diversity, equity, and inclusion or related concepts in their standards. The current federal push to eliminate or curb DEI policies, programs, and initiatives have created challenges for IHEs and accreditation agencies as they consider how to navigate the various state, accreditation, and programmatic DEI standards in light of the federal orders and potential threats to funding and federal approvals. Some accreditation agencies have eliminated or suspended DEI-related standards, while others have offered clarifications or re-affirmed their commitment to equitable and inclusive education and campus initiatives.

The states: 鈥淎s an institutional accreditor supporting the work of over 500 domestic and international institutions, our Commission has always offered institutions flexibility to demonstrate how they can best meet their missions through compliance with our requirements. Our Commission has long recognized that federal or state law or other government mandates may sometimes present challenges for institutions as they make efforts to comply with a variety of regulatory expectations. Put simply, our听听require that institutions comply with applicable laws, regulations, and other government mandates.鈥�

The WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) had initially proposed to remove DEI concepts but reversed course and now and will keep the in its standards.

The Council for Higher Education (CHEA) has also to equitable and inclusive higher education priorities and initiatives. CHEA acknowledges the complex challenges colleges face navigating the federal orders and policy shifts but asserts that preserving DEI requires a unified and proactive approach.

A number of professional licensure programmatic accreditation agencies have revised, eliminated, or suspended DEI-related standards, such as for engineering and technology programs, for physician assistant, for ophthalmic dispensing,听 for business and public accountancy programs, for law programs, and for psychology programs.

The two professional education accrediting associations, the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation (AAQEP) and the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to DEI concepts through their standards, frameworks, and goals. In January, the AAQEP Board of Directors approved the 2025 Expectations Framework, which provides substantial evidence of the accreditor's dedication to DEI principles. Similarly, the CAEP 2022 Standards (Initial and Advanced) and Goals clearly reflect the organization's ongoing commitment to DEI concepts.

Additionally, USDE is convening negotiated rulemaking sessions in 2026 focused on accreditation. The Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) Committee developed proposed regulatory changes intended to streamline cred transfer policies, strengthen conflict of interest controls, open the market to new accreditors, reduce costs, improve student outcomes and protect academic freedom and intellectual diversity. However, critics have argued that the changes will allow institutions to get away with poor oversight and not reduce costs. Additionally, some questioned whether accreditors should be the ones enforcing First Amendment rights. These proposed changes will be open to public comment, and a final version is expected in November 2026.

Campus Safety & Order/Non-Discrimination

The federal government has issued intended to address campus safety and non-discrimination.

State and federal laws related to non-discrimination include the and . Federal and state government officials have recently informed IHEs that their codes of conduct must be consistent with non-discrimination laws, and that they have a clearly defined and well publicized mechanism for individuals to report complaints.

Article 129 of NYS Education Law requires that IHEs have comprehensive, public-facing policies and procedures related to ensuring campus safety and order and protection of students鈥� free speech rights, safety, and freedom from discrimination. While this Article primarily targets policies addressing sexual assault and harassment, it does include requirements related to campus safety and order.

Consistent with its supervisory responsibilities, 小妲己直播 recently reminded every NYS institution of higher education to submit their written rules and policies for the maintenance of public order on college campuses and other college property used for educational purposes. 小妲己直播鈥檚 Office of Higher Education has received these submissions, and they are available for public inquiries and review.

It is 小妲己直播鈥檚 expectation that NYS IHEs will be safe spaces for all students to engage in freedom of speech and expression, have access to social-emotional supports, and foster an environment of empathy, understanding, and personal safety. IHEs are also expected to protect students, faculty, and staff from discriminatory actions and behavior, and to have codes of conduct that are consistent with non-discrimination laws, such as the and .

Some relevant excerpts from Article 129-A are:

• () 鈥hall adopt written rules for implementing all policies required pursuant to this article and for the maintenance of public order on college campuses and other college property used for educational purposes and provide a program for the enforcement thereof. 鈥係uch rules shall prohibit, among other things, any action or situation which recklessly or intentionally endangers mental or physical health.
• () Nothing contained in this article shall:

a.鈥僢e construed to limit or restrict the freedom of speech and peaceful assembly; 鈥塷r

b.鈥僷revent or limit a college from setting forth additional standards of conduct for students.

• () Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter, amend, modify or affect existing standards for civil liability.
• () Each college shall inform incoming students about bias related crime prevention measures through programs which may include workshops, seminars, discussion groups, and film presentations, in order to disseminate information about bias related crime, promote discussion, encourage reporting of incidents of bias related crime, and facilitate prevention of such incidents. Such information shall include, but not be limited to:

1.鈥僼he applicable laws, ordinances, and regulations on bias related crime, including the provisions and coverage of the hate crimes act of 2000 codified in article four hundred eighty-five of the penal law;

2.鈥僼he penalties for commission of bias related crimes;

3.鈥僼he procedures in effect at the college for dealing with bias related crime;

4.鈥僼he availability of counseling and other support services for the victims of bias related crime;

5.鈥僼he nature of and common circumstances relating to bias related crime on college campuses; 鈥塧nd

6.鈥僼he methods the college employs to advise and to update students about security procedures.

Additionally, in August 2025, Governor Hochul signed to require Title VI coordinators on all New York State college campuses. To support this endeavor, the New York State Division of Human Rights will also develop training for colleges and universities on upholding the protections of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, including shared ancestry or ethnic characteristics. These efforts will help combat racial bias and antisemitism on college campuses.