By Sean Robins, NACAC’s director of advocacy

Happy New Year and welcome to the newest issue of the Advocacy Update on NACAC’s Admitted blog. Meeting the moment in the midst of much uncertainty requires subtle perseverance, a dedicated spirit, and an opportunity to elevate your story and advocate for what matters most. Across federal and state policy arenas, decisions are being made — sometimes quietly, sometimes abruptly — that carry real consequences for students, families, and the institutions that support them.

At NACAC, we are dedicated to ensuring that these decisions do not happen in a vacuum. We work to bring clarity where there is confusion, elevate the lived experiences of students and college admission counselors, and hold policymakers accountable when actions threaten access, equity, or transparency in admissions and college access. Through our collective advocacy, we can shape outcomes that reflect the realities on the ground. By sharing your perspectives, engaging with policymakers, and standing together as a profession, we strengthen our ability to protect opportunity, expand access, and ensure that higher education remains a pathway — rather than a barrier — for the students we serve.

Policy & Legislative Updates 

New court filings have renewed scrutiny of the Education Department’s handling of federal student loan repayment programs. Despite reopening application portals and committing to regular updates, the department continues to sit on a backlog of more than 800,000 income-driven repayment applications, with only a small share of eligible borrowers receiving forgiveness through IDR or Public Service Loan Forgiveness. The American Federation of Teachers argues the department has failed to meet its legal obligations, citing stalled processing, limited approvals, and staffing cuts that have slowed progress. For borrowers who followed the rules and are waiting for relief, these delays are not abstract administrative challenges — they represent real and ongoing financial harm.

At the same time, the Trump administration has announced it will resume student loan wage garnishment, ending a five-year pause that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. In early January, defaulted borrowers started receiving notices warning that up to 15 percent of their disposable income may be withheld, with collections expected to ramp up quickly in the coming months. This move comes as borrowers face a weakening labor market, shifting repayment rules, and persistent barriers to accessing relief. With more than 5 million borrowers already in default — and that number projected to rise — advocates warn that renewed collection efforts risk deepening financial instability for those already struggling to stay afloat.

Legal uncertainty is also intensifying for institutions. A quiet but consequential signal from the U.S. Supreme Court suggests that challenges to terminated federal grants should be brought in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims — a venue that can award limited damages but cannot reinstate funding. In practice, colleges could prevail in court and still permanently lose the grant. For higher education, this shift weakens accountability and leaves institutions facing years-long litigation while programs shut down, staff are laid off, and students lose access to services those grants were meant to support. Over time, it risks chilling equity-focused innovation and making already fragile access pathways even more vulnerable.

Questions about federal authority and oversight are also playing out in the states. In Virginia, the outgoing attorney general agreed to a fast-tracked settlement with the Department of Justice that would block undocumented students from accessing in-state tuition. Civil rights and immigrant-advocacy groups argue the agreement sidesteps due process and threatens to upend college plans for thousands of students who meet state eligibility requirements. Incoming state leaders have criticized the move as a last-minute attempt to lock in a policy change before the new administration takes office and say they are reviewing options to defend the law. If approved, the agreement could force students to pay significantly higher tuition — or leave school midyear — while similar legal challenges continue to unfold nationwide.

Federal accountability policy continues to take shape as the Education Department’s AHEAD advisory committee reached consensus on a new “Do No Harm” earnings test that would apply across all postsecondary programs. The framework establishes a single baseline measure of financial value and expands consequences for some failing programs beyond loan eligibility, and in certain cases to Pell Grant access — steps several committee members viewed as necessary to strengthen student protections, particularly for certificate programs. At the same time, advocates continue to raise concerns that the final approach may not go far enough to prevent low-value programs from continuing to receive Title IV funds, pointing to the removal of the debt-to-earnings metric and other safeguards included in prior accountability rules. The proposal now moves to public comment, where questions about enforcement, legal authority, and whether the rule meaningfully balances consistency with accountability are expected to remain central.

Funding decisions are also reshaping the federal landscape. The Education Department announced it awarded $169 million — nearly the entire FY2025 allocation — for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), redirecting resources toward priorities such as artificial intelligence in teaching and learning, civil discourse initiatives, accreditation reform, and short-term programs, including short-term Pell. These awards represent a sharp departure from congressional intent, which emphasized student success initiatives, research infrastructure at HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, veterans centers of excellence, rural postsecondary economic development, open textbooks, and basic needs supports. The shift raises important questions about how federal innovation dollars are being redirected — and which students and institutions are being left out.

Congressional funding decisions remain unsettled as well. The House has passed a three-bill FY2026 appropriations package covering Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy and Water, and Interior and Environment, advancing six of the twelve funding bills. The Labor-HHS-Education bill remains unresolved, however, with some Democrats signaling they may withhold support for further appropriations until issues around expired health insurance subsidies are addressed. As current funding is set to expire on Jan. 30, appropriators are working toward a separate three-bill package that would include Labor-HHS-Education alongside Defense and Transportation-HUD. The coming days represent a critical window to secure education funding levels and the spending and administrative guardrails needed to protect students and institutions, with a continuing resolution still a real possibility if negotiations stall.

Administrative changes within the federal government add another layer of uncertainty. Beginning next week, the Education Department will assign higher-education staff to the Department of Labor as part of previously announced interagency agreements (IAAs) aimed at integrating postsecondary education and workforce development programs. Grantees in the Higher Education Programs division will also transition to Labor’s Grant Solutions and Payment Management System. While a list of affected programs has been posted, the move raises ongoing concerns about the transfer of statutory responsibility, institutional expertise, and oversight away from the Education Department — and the implications for program continuity and accountability.

Data and transparency issues have also come to the forefront. On Dec. 18, the Education Department announced Office of Management and Budget approval of the expanded IPEDS Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS), giving institutions just three months — through Mar. 18, 2026 — to collect and report extensive new admissions data. Despite hundreds of public comments, including substantive concerns raised by NACAC and a broad coalition of higher-education and data experts, no meaningful changes were made. OMB approval came the day after the comment period closed, and the department did not notify public commenters or issue a public release; instead, the decision appeared only in a “This Week in IPEDS” post.

NACAC’s public comment warned that the scope and timeline are unworkable, risk inaccurate or misleading reporting, and impose significant administrative burden without clear guidance or technical support. We also emphasized that admissions data collected without appropriate context could distort public understanding of college access and misrepresent holistic admissions practices. The decision to proceed as-is is deeply disappointing and raises serious questions about data quality, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative policymaking. NACAC is actively working with partners and engaging the department to request additional guidance while continuing to elevate member concerns and advocate for improved clarity and implementation in future cycles.

Broader policy shifts are also shaping student behavior and institutional planning. As the Trump administration intensifies its attacks on diversity, immigration, and gender equity, many high school seniors are rethinking how — or whether — to share aspects of their identity in college admissions essays. Reporting highlights growing self-censorship among students who fear that discussing race, immigration status, or gender identity could hurt their chances. While some institutions continue to invite essays grounded in lived experience, others have quietly revised prompts, narrowing how students feel able to present themselves and raising serious concerns about equity and authenticity in the admissions process.

International education remains similarly unsettled. After a year marked by visa delays, SEVIS revocations, OPT uncertainty, and shifting federal signals, colleges are navigating an admissions cycle shaped by policy volatility. New international enrollment fell sharply last fall even as interest in studying in the U.S. remains strong. Institutions are adapting by diversifying recruitment markets and offering more flexible pathways, but leaders warn that persistent visa backlogs and mixed messaging risk long-term enrollment losses and added financial strain. Those concerns have been heightened by the State Department’s announcement of a pause on processing immigrant visas for individuals from 75 countries. While officials say student visas are not affected, the lack of clarity and conflicting reports send a chilling signal, particularly given that these countries collectively sent more than 200,000 students to U.S. colleges last year.

At the state level, policymakers are grappling with the downstream effects of federal decisions. In Connecticut, lawmakers are proposing a new state-level graduate student loan to backfill access lost with the elimination of Grad PLUS under OBBBA. The proposal reflects how states may increasingly be forced to step in to protect graduate access, workforce pipelines, and affordability as federal support diminishes. More broadly, state higher-education leaders report that economic and workforce development now tops their policy priorities for 2026, alongside growing concern about affordability, return on investment, and completion amid tightening budgets and federal uncertainty.

Those fiscal pressures are already being felt in K–12 systems. States like Oregon, which automatically conform to the federal tax code, are facing unprecedented mid-year education cuts tied to federal tax changes under OBBBA. With contracts already in place and limited flexibility, districts are confronting difficult choices that underscore how quickly federal policy decisions can cascade into classroom-level consequences.

Finally, new enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show that while overall college enrollment has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, the recovery is uneven. Growth is concentrated in community colleges, dual enrollment, and short-term credentials, while adult learners and international graduate students continue to decline. The data suggest a sector in transition, where apparent enrollment recovery masks underlying access and equity challenges driven by federal policy decisions, demographic shifts, and disparities in who higher education is currently serving — and who it may be leaving behind.

NACAC Advocacy 

Since the previous issue of Advocacy Update on the Admitted blog, NACAC has continued to engage actively with partners, policymakers, and coalition allies to defend college access, protect students’ rights, and promote a stable and equitable postsecondary system.

NACAC joined an American Council on Education–led coalition letter responding to the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s request for information on accelerating the American scientific enterprise. In those comments, the coalition emphasized that U.S. research leadership depends on people, predictability, and integrity. The coalition underscored the essential role international students, graduate and professional students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty play in sustaining the nation’s research workforce, and warned that proposed visa limits, a new $100,000 H-1B fee, and federal graduate loan caps threaten to undermine that pipeline. The letter also stressed the importance of sustained, predictable federal research funding to avoid disruptions that waste taxpayer dollars and drive talent abroad, while strongly affirming the need to preserve a merit-based peer review system and guard against politicized grantmaking.

NACAC also endorsed the bipartisan Creating Opportunities to Use Received Student Exam Credit (COURSE Credit) Act, introduced by Rep. Suhas Subramanyam and Rep. Jefferson Van Drew. The legislation would bring greater transparency to how colleges and universities award Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate credit by requiring the Department of Education to collect and publish program-level credit policies on the College Scorecard and ensure institutions clearly post the same information on their websites. NACAC’s support reflects our longstanding commitment to helping students make informed enrollment decisions, better leverage advanced coursework, reduce time and cost to degree, and strengthen equitable pathways into and through postsecondary education.

In addition, NACAC joined coalition partners in urging Congress to intervene in response to the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education through interagency agreements. The coalition letter emphasized that Congress — not the executive branch — has sole authority over the department’s structure and funding, and warned that fragmenting education programs across multiple agencies will weaken oversight, increase bureaucracy, and place students’ civil rights at risk. Rather than creating clarity or returning authority to states, these actions threaten to introduce instability and new barriers for students, families, and institutions. The coalition called on lawmakers to reverse the transfers, enforce appropriations law, and restore the Department of Education to full operation to protect equal opportunity and ensure effective federal stewardship of education programs.

Together, these efforts reflect NACAC’s continued focus on advancing policies that promote transparency, stability, and access for students — while pushing back against actions that jeopardize educational opportunity, equity, and trust in federal education policy and programs.

Ways You Can Take Action 

We are continuously updating our Take Action page with opportunities to make your voice heard. If you have not already, I encourage you to advocate on the urgent issues below. You can also view all active advocacy campaigns in the yellow column of the Take Action page. 

• Tell Your Senators: Keep Education Programs at the Department of Education
• Tell Congress: Protect FSEOG and Work-Study Funding
• Tell Congress: Save TRIO and Support College Access
• Tell Congress: Prioritize Visa Appointments for International Students and Scholars 
• Urge Congress to Protect Postsecondary Pathways 
• Tell Congress: International Students are Essential to America’s Safety, Economy, and Global Strength
• Tell Congress to Not Abandon Our National Commitment to Education
• Urge Congress to Protect Disabled Students 
• Don’t Flunk the Future Advocacy Toolkit 

The months ahead will continue to test how higher education responds to uncertainty, shifting policy, and competing priorities. The choices made now will shape not only institutional practice, but who feels welcome, supported, and able to pursue postsecondary opportunity. NACAC will remain engaged alongside our members — tracking developments, elevating concerns, and advocating for policies that center students and the professionals who support them. Progress in moments like this is rarely immediate, but it is built through consistency, collaboration, and a shared commitment to purpose.

As conservationist and global advocate Jane Goodall reminds us, “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”

By meeting this moment with purpose and persistence, our advocacy can expand opportunity and safeguard access for the students we serve.