Negotiated Rulemaking Forges Ahead: Key Themes from the Public Comments and What to Expect Going Forward

On July 24, 2025, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced its intent to convene two negotiated rulemaking committees to implement the higher education provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) as well as other administration priorities.

The Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee will consider changes to the federal student loan programs, while the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee will consider changes to institutional and programmatic accountability, the Pell Grant program, and other changes to Title IV programs passed by Congress.

SUMMARY OF THE PUBLIC COMMENTS

Accompanying this announcement, ED sought public comment regarding the topics being negotiated.  The public comment period closed on August 25, 2025. A review of the over 1,100 public comments submitted to ED reveals key themes across stakeholder groups: an acknowledgment that OBBBA presents both opportunities and risks for students and institutions; a call for clear, unambiguous regulatory language; and the need for sufficient time and resources to ensure effective implementation of the proposed changes.

Other comments reflected the expected viewpoints of the submitters:

• Borrower Advocates – focused on protecting repayment options, maintaining affordability and access, and preventing confusion during the transitionary period.
• Institutions – emphasized clarity, flexibility, and reducing the administrative burden on schools.
• Graduate and Professional Groups – advocated for defining a number of occupational graduate programs as “professional degree programs”, thus enabling students in those programs to receive greeting borrowing capacity in Title IV loan programs
• Consumer Advocates – warned of the harmful impacts on affordability and equity and emphasized the need for protective measures against predatory actors.

The following topics received the most coverage:

1. Elimination of Grad PLUS Loans
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: potential funding gaps, especially for students with low- and middle-income backgrounds; curtailing access to critical professions that rely on the Grad PLUS program. ambiguity of statutory language as it pertains to certain borrowers
   2. Commenter Recommendations: department of education should prioritize the protection of impacted student borrowers and make it a priority to provide clarity where ambiguity exists (examples: borrowers enrolled less than full time, borrowers who take a leave of absence during expected completion period, borrowers who change degree programs)

2. Lifetime Loan Limits for Graduate, Professional and Parent Borrowers
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: lack of clear and consistent definition of “professional” program creates ambiguity and inconsistent application of the rule; many graduate and professional programs currently exceed the loan limits.
   2. Recommendations: develop comprehensive, evidence-based and multi-factor framework for what is considered a professional program; exclude existing loans from new limit calculations.

3. Student Loan Repayment Plan Provisions
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: proposed repayment structure in the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) could lead to dramatic payment spikes for marginal income increases; RAP’s extended repayment terms (30 years) could trap low-income borrowers in debt for longer; borrower confusion.
   2. Recommendations: frequent and plain language communications about RAP features and potential impacts; user friendly repayment calculators; ensure adequate ED staffing and support to provide assistance, monitor performance, and resolve issues.

4. Workforce Pell
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: Data on short-term programs is limited; lack of clear public reporting for these types of programs; capacity and infrastructure for program approval varies by state; ensuring alignment with state priorities.
   2. Recommendations: require public reporting of program approvals; seek input from state boards to align regulations with existing structures and state licensing requirements.

5. Pell Grant Eligibility Changes
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: ambiguity on whether Pell remains “first dollar” except for Cost of Attendance exclusion; institutional knowledge of third-party scholarships at time of initial aid-packaging; disproportionate impact on students who piece aid together.
   2. Recommendations: clarify the Department’s position on whether Pell remains a “first dollar” program; impose regular reviews and updates of Cost of Attendance formulas to reflect actual student expenses; include financial aid administrators in these discussions.

6. Implementation Challenges
   1. Most Frequently Expressed Concerns: July 1, 2026, implementation date may not provide sufficient time to adjust systems, train staff, and update borrower-facing materials; ED staffing capacity; potential confusion of stakeholders.
   2. Recommendations: delay implementation until July 1, 2027; rehiring of sufficient ED workforce; clear definitions and consistent enforcement.

IMPLEMENTATION

To comply with the July 1, 2026, statutory implementation deadline which is in place for much of the higher education related provisions of the bill, final regulations adopted by the RISE and AHEAD committees must be published in the Federal Register no later than November 1, 2025.[1]

Neither committee will finish its work to meet this deadline (the RISE Committee has scheduled one of its two sessions after the November 1 publication cutoff, and the AHEAD Committee will not begin meeting until December 2025). As a result, the effective date for any final regulations will almost certainly be delayed until July 1, 2027.

That said, ED has shown a willingness to aggressively implement the administration’s other policy priorities.  Thus, it is possible that Secretary McMahon may decide to implement the final rule early and wave the traditional delays required prior to implementing a final rule as is allowed under the terms of the Administrative Procedure Act.[2]  At this point, however, it is unclear whether ED will pursue that option.

ACTION ITEMS

Communicate the Impact on Your Institution

Institutions seeking to provide input on the potential impact of the final regulations are encouraged to work through their member associations to inform negotiators that have a seat on the RISE and AHEAD committees. In addition, all scheduled committee meetings will be open to the public and include designated time for public comment. Institutions may wish to attend these sessions (on person or virtually) to ensure their perspectives are heard.

Degree Audits

It remains unclear at this time how ED intends to classify academic programs as “professional” or “graduate,” which would determine the applicable loan limits.  As mentioned above, many of the comments submitted to ED on this issue call for an expanded application with more programs qualifying as “professional” to access the higher loan limits, while others have advocated for a strict interpretation and reference historical classifications submitted by institutions that limit which programs qualify as “professional.”

Regardless of which approach ED ultimately adopts, in anticipation of the loan limits established under the OBBBA, it would be prudent for institutions to conduct a preliminary audit of their academic programs to determine whether any fall into this gray area.

Workforce Pell

Although Workforce Pell will not launch until July 1, 2026 (at the earliest), institutions can begin planning now. Institutions can identify short-term programs that could be eligible for Workforce Pell, compare those programs against the statutory requirements, and determine what data exists to demonstrate labor market alignment with in-demand industries or occupations. Institutions can also strengthen partnerships with employers to facilitate work-based learning, such as apprenticeships, clinicals, or internships.

COMMITTEES

A.   RISE Committee

      Dates

• • September 29^th -October 3^rd
  • November 3^rd – November 7^th

     Constituency Groups Represented on RISE Committee*

• • Student Loan Borrowers
  • Veteran Borrowers
  • Legal assistance organizations that represent students
  • State Education Agency Officials
  • Public Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education
  • Proprietary Institutions of Higher Education
  • Student Loan Servicers and Guaranty Agencies
  • Organizations representing taxpayers and public interest

     Issues to be Addressed

• • Phasing out of Graduate and Professional Plus Lans
  • Establishment of New Annual Loan Limits for Students/Parents as well as lifetime borrowing caps
  • Loan Repayment Plans
  • Loan Rehabilitation
  • Institutional Flexibility to Apply Lower Loan Limits

B.     AHEAD Committee

        Dates

• • December 8^th-12^th
  • January 5^th-9^th

       Constituency Groups Represented on AHEAD Committee*

• • Student Loan Borrowers
  • Veteran Borrowers
  • Legal assistance organizations that represent students
  • Public Institutions of Higher Education
  • Private Institutions of Higher Education
  • Proprietary Institutions of Higher Education
  • State Workforce Agencies and Workforce Development Boards
  • State Education Financing Organizations
  • State Authorizing Agencies
  • Accrediting Agencies
  • Employers and Groups Representing Business Community
  • Organizations representing taxpayers and public interest

         Issues to be Addressed

• • Program Eligibility Requirements for the New Workforce Pell Grant Program
  • Institutional and programmatic accountability measures – financial value transparency (FVT) and gainful employment (GE)
  • Exclusion of Pell Grant assistance for students who receive grant, or scholarship aid covering their entire cost of attendance, or for students with a student aid index more than twice the maximum Pell Grant award

*Note that despite the key role financial aid administrators will play in implementing these key changes on college campuses both the RISE and AHEAD committee do not include a spot for a representation of this group.

 HMBR’s Higher Education Group will continue to monitor this issue. If you have questions about your institution’s specific programs and activities or require assistance in developing strategies on these issues moving forward, please contact us via email or by phone at 312-946-1800.

[1] The Federal Direct Loan Program Terminations and Loan Limits (Subtitle A), the majority of the Student Loan Repayment Programs Overhaul (Subtitle B), Pell Eligibility and Workforce Pell (Subtitle C) provisions, and the Institutional Accountability (Subtitle D) changes are each subject to the July 1, 2026, deadline.

[2] 5 U.S.C. § 553(d)(3)