"Higher ed leaders, advocates and officials appeared to walk away from the Education Department's first round of talks on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its time-sensitive overhaul to the student loan system with cautious optimism. The negotiations over new repayment plans and which programs qualify for various loan-cap levels concluded Friday and will begin again in November. These meetings are a key step in the lengthy and complex process known as negotiated rule making,"
"When department officials first came to the table Monday, they made it clear that OBBBA had been fairly direct and left little room for negotiation-particularly when it came to defining which postbaccalaureate programs would qualify for higher loan caps. Their plan would include only 10 programs, they said. But by the end of the week, the tone of the conversation had shifted."
Negotiators engaged in the Education Department's negotiated rule making over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to reshape student loan repayment plans and loan-cap definitions. Meetings concluded Friday and will resume in November, with many provisions slated to take effect July 1, 2026. Department officials initially limited postbaccalaureate program eligibility to 10 programs, leaving little room for change. After heated public comments and closed-door discussions, the department proposed a one-year expansion as a compromise contingent on committee approval. Committee members representing diverse stakeholders expressed remaining skepticism and unanswered questions while regarding the proposal as tentative progress.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
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