• Grad PLUS loans will be eliminated July 1, 2026.
• Students who have never taken a Grad PLUS before that date won’t be able to borrow them moving forward.
• Legacy provision: students who borrow federal loans for their graduate program before July 1, 2026, may be eligible for graduate PLUS loans for up to three years, or until they complete their program.

• Annual limit: $20,000 per year, per student
• Lifetime limit: $65,000 per student
• Applies to students who have never borrowed ANY federal loans before July 1, 2026 (“new borrowers”).

Legacy borrowers (any student with ANY federal loan before July 1, 2026, or graduates with a Grad PLUS loan) keep current rules unless they stop attending without an approved leave.

• Loan disbursements will be prorated if a student enrolls less than full time.
• This applies even to legacy borrowers—there is no exception written for them.

Link to NASFAA Institutional Accountability Brief, February 2026.

• Colleges must report median earnings of graduates for each academic program.
• Federal accountability policy now ties Title IV eligibility (for Federal loans and Pell grants) directly to graduates’ earnings relative to workforce benchmarks. 
• The Department of Education will begin issuing program-level (at the six-digit CIP level) earnings calculations for prior completer cohorts in July 2027. We will not know what programs are at risk until the 2027-2028 academic year.
• All Title IV-eligible programs are subject to an earnings-based value test comparing former students’ earnings to workforce benchmarks. The program-level benchmarks are based on state-level, or national, median earnings four years after graduation at CWU:
  • Undergrads earnings must exceed working adults with only a high school diploma
  • Graduates earnings must exceed working adults with a bachelor’s degree
• Any program that is below threshold for one year must notify currently enrolled students that the program is low-earning and at risk.
• Any program that is below threshold for two (of three consecutive years) loses Federal Direct Loan eligibility.

No. Everything for the current 2025-26 academic year remains the same. Your scholarships, grants, and loans will not be changed by H.R. 1 this year.

No. Federal Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans will continue to be available for undergraduate students.

Beginning July 1, 2026:

• Students who have never borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan before that date will not be eligible for moving forward.
• Students who borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan before July 1, 2026, may continue borrowing under the current rules for up to three years or until they complete their program (whichever comes first).

Yes, but with new limits. Starting July 1, 2026:

• Parents may borrow up to $20,000 per year
• And up to $65,000 total per student

These limits apply only to new borrowers—students who have never borrowed any type of federal student loan before July 1, 2026.

Students who have borrowed any federal loan before this date are considered legacy borrowers (see below).

A student is a legacy borrower if they:

• Borrowed any type of federal student loan before July 1, 2026, or
• Graduate students only - borrowed a Graduate PLUS loan before that date

Legacy borrowers may continue using current PLUS loan rules. However, to keep legacy status, students must remain continuously enrolled or have an approved leave of absence.

** If a student stops out and later returns without an approved leave, the new loan limits may apply.

Beginning July 1, 2026, yes.

Federal loans will be prorated for students enrolled less than full-time. This applies to all borrowers, including legacy borrowers.

Undergraduate students enrolled in fewer than 12 credits or who switch between part-time and full-time will need to plan their finances carefully.

We don’t know yet.

H.R. 1 updates the Financial Value Transparency (FVT) rules, which review whether graduates of each program meet certain earnings thresholds. The federal government is still defining how these rules will work.

CWU is monitoring this process closely, and we will notify students if any program-specific changes occur. At this time, no CWU programs have been identified as affected.

No. There is no federal guidance yet identifying programs that may be impacted by FVT. Students should continue choosing programs based on interest, strengths, and goals—not speculation.

CWU will provide clear communication if federal decisions affect any majors or programs.

Not for this year.

However, because future loan disbursements will be tied more closely to full-time enrollment, students may want to plan their schedules carefully starting in 2026–2027.

Your academic advisor can help you map out a schedule that keeps you on track.

CWU is actively:

• Working with federal and state agencies to advocate for students
• Reviewing programs to understand potential FVT impacts
• Reducing course scheduling conflicts to support timely graduation
• Updating advising and financial aid processes to ensure students receive accurate, timely information
• Preparing resources and planning tools for students and families as new rules are finalized