{"id":2673,"date":"2026-08-17T09:59:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T13:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/?page_id=2673"},"modified":"2026-08-26T11:38:54","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T15:38:54","slug":"changes-to-student-and-parent-loan-eligibility-effective-july-1-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/changes-to-student-and-parent-loan-eligibility-effective-july-1-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Changes to Student and Parent Loan Eligibility- Effective July 1, 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Several provisions affect federal student loan borrowing and are take effect July 1, 2026. These new provisions will impact students, families, and institutions like URI due to changes made pertaining to federal financial aid programs such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pell Grant eligibility<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Modifications to the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan program<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Phasing out the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan program for new borrowers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New eligibility criteria and reporting requirements that could impact how federal student aid is awarded and maintained<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To learn more about the changes being made please select a topic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"cl-wrapper cl-card-wrapper\"><a class=\"cl-card   left\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/?page_id=2831&amp;preview=true\" title=\"\"><div class=\"cl-card-container text\"><div class=\"cl-card-text\"><h2>Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cl-card-container button\">click here to learn more<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"cl-wrapper cl-card-wrapper\"><a class=\"cl-card   left\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/federal-direct-graduate-plus-student-loan-changes\/\" title=\"\"><div class=\"cl-card-container text\"><div class=\"cl-card-text\"><h2>Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cl-card-container button\">Click here to learn more<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"cl-wrapper cl-card-wrapper\"><a class=\"cl-card   left\" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/federal-direct-graduate-professional-loan-limits\/\" title=\"\"><div class=\"cl-card-container text\"><div class=\"cl-card-text\"><h2>Federal Direct Graduate &amp; Professional Loan Limits<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cl-card-container button\">Click here to learn more<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"cl-wrapper cl-card-wrapper\"><a class=\"cl-card  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/loan-adjustments-for-part-time-enrollment\/\" title=\"\"><div class=\"cl-card-container text\"><div class=\"cl-card-text\"><h2>Less than Full-Time Loan Adjustments<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cl-card-container button\">click here to learn more<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"cl-wrapper cl-card-wrapper\"><a class=\"cl-card  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/federal-pell-grant-fafsa-changes\/\" title=\"\"><div class=\"cl-card-container text\"><div class=\"cl-card-text\"><h2>Pell Grant &amp; FAFSA Changes<\/h2><\/div><\/div><div class=\"cl-card-container button\">click here to learn more<\/div><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Loan Change FAQs: Federal Loan Changes Effective July 1, 2026<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Will Parent PLUS Loans still be available?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes, but with new limits beginning July 1, 2026:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Up to $20,000 per student per academic year<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Up to $65,000 total per student over the student\u2019s undergraduate enrollment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Could we run out of Parent PLUS eligibility before graduation?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Possibly. Families who borrow the maximum each year may reach the $65,000 total limit before the student completes a four-year degree. If that happens, Parent PLUS loans would no longer be available for the remaining enrollment period.\u00a0Families may wish to consider private student loans to supplement their limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Are any families expected to be \u201cgrandfathered\u201d under prior rules?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Federal law includes a transition provision. Families may continue borrowing under prior rules if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The student was enrolled in the same degree program on June 30, 2026 (major changes permitted), <strong>AND<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The parent or student borrowed a Federal Direct Loan before July 1, 2026.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Parents of eligible students may continue borrowing for up to three academic years or until the student completes the undergraduate degree, whichever occurs first. Final federal guidance is still pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Will student loans change if I attend part-time?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. Beginning July 1, 2026, students enrolled less than full-time will not qualify for the full annual Federal Direct Loan amount. Loan eligibility will be prorated based on enrolled credits (similar to how Pell Grant eligibility is calculated).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Full-time enrollment is 12 credits for undergraduate students and 9 credits for graduate students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is the Graduate PLUS Loan being eliminated?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Beginning July 1, 2026, the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is expected to be unavailable to new borrowers. Students who received a Federal Direct Loan (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, or PLUS) before July 1, 2026 <strong>AND<\/strong> who remain continuously enrolled in the same program may continue to borrow Graduate PLUS loans for up to three academic years <strong>OR<\/strong> until they complete their credential, whichever comes first. Final federal guidance is still pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What should families do now to prepare<\/strong>?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Plan borrowing across all years, not just the first year.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review expected time to degree completion and enrollment plans (full-time vs. part-time).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact Enrollment Services if you anticipate reaching borrowing limits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Will these details change?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Possibly. The federal government has not issued final implementation guidance. URI will update families promptly as additional information becomes available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><sub><strong>Disclaimer: <\/strong>While the U.S. Department of Education has not yet released final implementation guidance, the University of Rhode Island is monitoring federal updates closely and will revise this page as additional information becomes available. Details below are based on current rules and may change based on federal guidance.<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law. Several provisions affect federal student loan borrowing and are take effect July 1, 2026. These new provisions will impact students, families, and institutions like URI due to changes made pertaining to federal financial aid programs such as: To learn more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5356,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2673","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2673"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2873,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2673\/revisions\/2873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/financial-aid\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}