Regulations

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Important Changes

What is the One Big Beautiful Bill Act?

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3 or OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduces significant reforms to federal student aid programs. Most changes take effect beginning July 1, 2026, impacting the 2026–27 award year. These include new loan limits, elimination of certain loan programs, and modified Pell Grant and repayment structures

Undergraduate Students

Pell Changes

  • Students who receive grants or scholarships from non-federal sources covering their entire cost of attendance (COA) are ineligible to receive a Pell Grant, even if otherwise eligible for the program.
  • Prevents students from receiving Pell Grants if their SAI exceeds twice the maximum Pell Grant award.

Direct Loan Changes

  • There are no changes to annual or aggregate federal loan borrowing limits for undergraduate students.
  • Students enrolled less-than-full-time will have their subsidized and unsubsidized loans prorated based on annual credit hours.

PLUS Loan Changes

New PLUS Loan Annual and Aggregate Limits Beginning July 1,2026:

  • $20,000 per dependent student, per year (annual limit).
  • $65,000 per dependent student, in total (aggregate limit).

Parents who currently borrow PLUS loans to help pay for their student's school should be sure they know whether they qualify for a time-limited exception to the new loan limits listed above.

Graduate and Professional Students

Direct Loan Annual and Aggregate Borrowing Limits

New Graduate Loan Limits Beginning July 1, 2026:

  • $20,500 per graduate student, per year (annual limit).
  • $100,000 per graduate student, in total (aggregate limit), not including undergraduate borrowing.

New Professional Loan Limits Beginning July 1,2026:

  • $50,000 per professional student, per year (annual limit).
  • $200,000 per professional student, in total (aggregate limit), not including undergraduate borrowing.

Professional Student Definition

Students in the following programs are considered professional students for purposes of federal student loan limits listed above:

  • Pharmacy (PharmD)
  • Dentistry (DDS or DMD)
  • Veterinary Medicine(DVD)
  • Chiropractic (D.C. or DCM)
  • Law (LLB or J.D.)
  • Medicine (M.D.)
  • Optometry (O.D.)
  • Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.)
  • Podiatry (DPM, D.P., or PodD)
  • Theology (MDiv or MHL)
  • Clinical Psychology (PsyD or PhD)

Graduate PLUS Loans

  • Starting July 1, 2026, the Graduate PLUS loan program will be eliminated unless students qualify for a limited exception.
  • Students who currently depend on Grad PLUS loans to help pay for school should be sure they know whether they qualify for the exception and what conditions could lead to the loss of Graduate PLUS eligibility.

Changes Impacting All Students

Limited Exception to New Borrowing Limits

The law allows some students and parents to continue borrowing using the current Direct Loan, PLUS, and Graduate PLUS program annual and aggregate limits without being subject to the new borrowing limits listed above through their time to completion, for a maximum of three years.

Graduate and Professional students may qualify for the limited exception if:

  • The student remains continuously enrolled in the same program of study at UMKC as they were enrolled as of June 30, 2026, AND
  • The student had a Direct Loan disbursed (Direct Loan or Graduate PLUS) for that same program of study before July 1, 2026.

Parents of current undergraduate students may qualify for the limited exception if the criteria listed above for graduate students was met OR if:

  • A parent borrowed a Parent PLUS Loan that disbursed for that same program of study for the undergraduate student before July 1, 2026.

Loan Proration

Regardless if a student is eligible for the limited exception to borrowing limits or if they are borrowing using the new rules, Effective July 1, 2026, federal student loan amounts must be prorated for students enrolled less than full-time, with eligibility directly proportional to credit hour enrollment

Total Aggregate Limit

The maximum lifetime borrowing limit on all federal students loans:

$257,500 - excluding Parent PLUS and Graduate PLUS loans.

Important Notice

The information above reflects our current understanding of the federal financial aid changes enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Several details - including eligibility rules, transition provisions, and implementation timelines - remain subject to federal rulemaking and future guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. All information is subject to change as new information and guidance becomes available.