GW Federal Update (May 7)

Key Takeaways

• The Department of Education published a final rule and issued a fact sheet related to student loans. The rule makes significant changes to loan repayment options and places new federal loan limits for graduate and professional degree programs. The rule caps annual borrowing for professional degree programs at $50,000 and $200,000 in total (limited to pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology and clinical psychology).  All student loans for other graduate degree programs will be capped at $20,500 annually or $100,000 total. The rule is set to take effect July 1. Students can review the Office of Student Financial Assistance website for more information and finaidgwu [dot] edu (contact the office) with any questions. 
   
• The House Appropriations Committee released a fiscal 2027 bill that would cut funding for the National Science Foundation and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The House’s proposed cuts are less extensive than those proposed by the president in his budget request, but if enacted, the House bill would inflict serious harm on the American scientific research enterprise.
   
• Please note: Over the summer, the Federal Update will be distributed once in June, July and August.

Recent Federal Actions

Department of Education 

• On April 30, the Department of Education published a final rule titled, “Reimagining and Improving Student Education - Federal Student Loan Program Final Regulations” and issued a related fact sheet. The rule makes significant changes to student loan repayment options and places new federal loan limits for graduate and professional degree programs. Among other things, the rule caps annual borrowing for professional degree programs at $50,000 and $200,000 in total (limited to pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology and clinical psychology).  All student loans for other graduate degree programs will be capped at $20,500 annually or $100,000 total. The rule is set to take effect July 1. Students can review the Office of Student Financial Assistance website for more information and finaidgwu [dot] edu (contact the office) with any questions. 
   
• On April 27, ED announced the launch of a new, real-time fraud detection capability for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) form. Under this new effort, the Department will use “risk-based identity screening” that is “built directly into the FAFSA itself,” where aid applicants flagged as high risk will be required to present government-issued identification before accessing aid. ED also announced that it had begun conducting a one-time review of all previously submitted 2026-27 FAFSA forms using the new screening technology.

Research and Grantmaking

• On April 24, the Trump Administration terminated the appointment of all members of the independent National Science Board (NSB), which oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is among the top federal funders of university research. The NSB meets five times a year and publishes reports on the state of U.S. science and engineering that help to guide the president and Congress, and sets the NSF’s policies and approves major expenditures. In addition, the NSF has been without a director for a year. In response, 13 former NSF leaders urgently called for the Senate and the Administration to restore “full leadership and governance at the [NSF] during a period of intense competition.”
   

• Fifteen historically Black colleges and universities have formed a landmark coalition titled the Association of HBCU Research Institutions to pursue R1 status, the highest designation for research productivity in the United States. This strategic partnership includes collaboration with the Association of American Universities and significant financial and infrastructure support from Harvard University. Currently, only Howard University holds the R1 designation; 13 other coalition members are classified as R2 institutions. By uniting, these schools aim to dismantle historical patterns of isolation and discriminatory assumptions, ensuring they can compete for greater federal funding and attract elite faculty and students.

  Wayne A.I. Frederick, who is Howard University’s president emeritus (and who is also currently serving as Howard’s interim president), is leading AHRI on an interim basis. Morgan State University President David K. Wilson and Prairie View Agricultural and Mechanical University President Tomikia P. LeGrande are serving, respectively, as AHRI’s board chair and vice chair.
  
  The initiative is bolstered by substantial philanthropic investments, which provide the capital necessary to upgrade research infrastructure. Beyond institutional prestige, the coalition emphasizes the importance of conducting research that addresses issues often overlooked by traditional elite universities, including sickle cell disease and racial disparities in economics. Leaders of the movement argue that this collaboration is a vital step toward normalizing the presence of HBCUs in the national research conversation. Through shared resources and technical support, the association seeks to demonstrate that high-level scholarship is not the exclusive domain of a few elite institutions but a collective endeavor that benefits from diverse perspectives.

International Community

• In the June 5, 2025 and January 15 editions of the GW Federal Update, we reported that the Trump Administration announced new travel restrictions and later a Proclamation that would affect the ability of citizens of certain countries to enter the U.S. The Administration subsequently expanded the restrictions to pause the processing of applications for immigration benefits, including for Optional Practical Training (OPT) for individuals from those countries, until U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services implemented new guidelines for vetting applications from those countries.  Four months after the pause went into effect, no guidance has been released, which has impacted an estimated two million applicants.

Congress

• The House Appropriations Committee released a fiscal (FY) 2027 bill last week that would cut funding for the National Science Foundation and NASA’s Science Mission Directorate. The House’s proposed cuts are less extensive than those proposed by the president in his FY27 budget request, but if enacted, the House bill would inflict serious harm on the American scientific research enterprise.

  The House’s FY27 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies appropriations bill provides:

  • $7 billion to the National Science Foundation (a cut of 20%, or $1.75 billion, from the previous fiscal year), including:
    • $6.4 billion for research and related activities (a cut of 10%, or $736 million, from FY26).
    • $173 million for major research equipment and facilities (a cut of 31%, or $78 million, from FY26).
    • $30.5 million for the National Science Board (a cut of 40%, or $20.4 million, from FY26).
  • $6 billion to NASA Science (a cut of 17.2%, or $1.25 billion, from FY26), as well as:
    • $850 million to NASA Aeronautics (a cut of 9.1%, or $85 million, from FY26).
    • $913 million to NASA Space Technology (a cut of 0.8%, or $7 million, from FY26).
    • $58 million for NASA’s Space Grant program (no change from FY26).

While the House bill suggests that Congress, for the second fiscal year in a row, does not have the appetite to cut research funding to the extent that the White House is proposing, it nonetheless provides for cuts that would be a serious setback for American science. AAU, of which GW is a member, had advocated for $9.9 billion for NSF and $9 billion for the NASA Science Mission Directorate in FY27.

On a positive note, Section 542 of the FY27 Commerce-Justice-Science bill preserves language from last year’s bill instructing the Department of Commerce, NASA, and the NSF to continue to apply the negotiated indirect cost rates for institutions of higher education to the same extent and in the same manner as such rates were applied in FY24.

Partial Government Shutdown

• As of April 30, a 76-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ended after President Trump signed a funding bill. The legislation funds most DHS agencies—including the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Transportation Security Administration—through September 2026, ending the longest such shutdown in U.S. history. While operations are resuming, agencies are working to rehire staff lost during the impasse. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection funding were not included in this bill, and House Republicans plan to address these through a separate, future reconciliation package.

Other Higher Education Institutions

• Stanford University: On April 29, ED’s Office of Civil Rights announced that it had initiated an investigation against Stanford and its National Board Resource Center.  According to the OCR announcement, the Center “helps future teachers who identify as a person of color receive National Board Certifications.” OCR alleges that the program violates Title VI by “conditioning access to National Board Certification programs based on skin color.”
   
• Smith College: On May 4, OCR announced that it was initiating an investigation into Smith College, an all-women’s college, over its policy allowing transgender women to enroll at the college. OCR alleges that Smith’s policy violates Title IX by allowing biological males into women’s intimate spaces.
   
• UCLA: On May 6, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had completed its investigation into the admissions practices of UCLA’s school of medicine to determine compliance with the Supreme Court Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) decision and concluded that the university unlawfully considered race in violation of Title VI, including through the use of proxies for race. DOJ also concluded that Black applicants on average had consistently lower academic qualifications than their White and Asian counterparts. DOJ offered UCLA the opportunity to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement to remedy the violations DOJ found. In response, UCLA stated that the school of medicine’s admission process is “based on merit and grounded in a rigorous, comprehensive review of each applicant,” and that the school is "committed to providing equal opportunity to all applicants and fully complying with federal and state laws.” In late January, DOJ intervened in a lawsuit against UCLA and its school of medicine brought by SFFA, also alleging that race was unlawfully considered in medical school admissions.

Resources

GW is committed to supporting our students, faculty and staff through federal changes. Curated resources are available for staying informed and safe, in addition to FAQs addressing the most common topics on students' minds, including interactions with external law enforcement and supporting international community members.

About this Newsletter

GW publishes this weekly Federal Update to inform students, faculty and staff about how developments in the federal government affect higher education generally and the University. This newsletter includes timely information, answers to questions from GW community members, and resources for support.