MARKETview recently hosted a Q&A webinar featuring James Day, Founding Principal, and Anna Swanson, Managing Director of Data and Analytics, discussing the freshly passed “One Big Beautiful Bill” and its effects on higher ed. We received so many thought-provoking questions (with limited time to answer them) that we decided to follow up with our subject matter experts to get even more insights into this impactful legislation.
We’ve compiled a few of the top questions that weren’t answered in the webinar and catalogued Day and Swanson’s thoughts below. If you missed the original Q&A session, make sure to watch the recording here, and then come back after.
Q: How could the new billing structures outlined in this bill influence student yield, melt, and overall enrollment patterns?
Swanson:
“I don’t believe the billing structure is the problem for most institutions. You’re going to have to bill students eventually, and most schools don’t get bills out until late in the summer anyway. Certainly, there will be some changes, but I don’t think that’s going to affect the yield of these students.
“In terms of melt, you already see students once they get their bill saying, ‘Oh shoot, I can’t afford this, I’m not going to attend.’ You’re always going to have students who didn’t understand how much it was going to cost, and then they see the light of day and realize they can’t make it work. So, I don’t anticipate they’re going to melt any more then they have in the past.”
Q: Are there anticipated challenges with external aid sources (529 plans, third-party scholarships, etc.) that require itemized costs?
Day:
“The range of learning opportunities that 529 funds can be used to finance has dramatically increased as a result of this legislation. 529s could already be used for private schools and colleges. But now, mirroring the expanded Pell philosophy, 529 savings can now be used for skilled trade training programs. So, those able to save may use 529s as a vehicle for that purpose more often.
“If this is the case, there will be more families that can take advantage of the savings and tax deferral benefits of a 529 plan, and therefore more voter support for the tax benefit. But I don’t see any change in the way colleges will regard these plans as they determine financial aid. The determination of ‘need’ or SAI is mainly a qualifier for Federal aid.”
Q: Will this bill affect FAFSA in any way?
Swanson:
“It shouldn’t. FAFSA is legislated differently, so this bill has no bearing on how the calculations happen. Until the Department of Education decides they want to change the formula for FAFSA, this bill has nothing to do with that. That doesn’t mean some other bill won’t impact it, though.”
Q: Will these changes affect an institution’s ability to recruit low-income students?
Day:
“In the long run, if the number of families that will take advantage of a 529 plan increases, then colleges should benefit. But half of American families really aren’t in a position to save money, so enrolling low-income students will remain the same challenge that it is currently.”
Q: How will Direct Student Loan proration be calculated? How could this impact financial aid awarding?
Swanson:
“It should just be a calculation now. A full academic year is defined as a minimum of 24 credit hours, so if a student decides to go half time to 12 hours, it will just be 50% of what they’re eligible for. For instance, a subsidized loan right now — if you’re eligible for it — is $5,500. An unsubsidized loan has an annual limit of $2,000. So, you’d just prorate those amounts by the student’s percentage of full time credit hours.
“One big question about the impact comes from how these credit hours are defined. The federal government could define certain ranges of hours as half time or full time. A true proration would be based on what each individual school considers full time. Most schools work on a semester-hour basis, so it’s easily transferable. But we’ve got some schools that work on trimesters, meaning their credit hours scale differently. So, you can’t just say 12 credit hours means 12 credit hours across the board. How is that calculation going to take place?”
Q: What non-higher ed related provision could have the biggest impact on colleges and universities?
Day:
“I read the full legislation, and it’s rather dramatic. The bets on the economic development of a manufacturing base are big ones. Part of the policy behind this bet isn’t in the bill but in the tariffs. One sure way for a foreign firm to avoid tariffs is to build a plant here.
“If the blue-collar segment of the country benefits economically from these changes, colleges should also benefit. In addition, with this level of policy working to create certain kinds of facilities and capabilities, colleges could change their curriculums to support this. Certainly, the community and technical college segment will adjust, but the four-year institutions will see opportunity, too.”
Book time with our team to see how MARKETview’s real-time data can keep you in the know throughout the enrollment cycle on the student populations that matter most to your goals.