Proposal to Overhaul How Families Pay for College Could Affect Almost Half of UW's Students

Wednesday, May 7th, 2025 -- 1:00 PM

(Corrinne Hess, Wisconsin Public Radio) Republican proposals to overhaul how families pay for college could affect nearly half of the students attending the Universities of Wisconsin and about 40 percent of students at the state’s private schools.

According to Corrinne Hess with Wisconsin Public Radio, draft legislation released last week by the House Committee on Education shows sweeping changes to the federal student loan system that would cut $330 billion in federal spending.

This includes changing repayment plans and cuts to the Pell Grant program for low-income students. In 2024, 95,719 Wisconsin students received Pell Grants, according to the Education Data Initiative. The average Pell Grant awarded per recipient was $4,604.

“What we’re seeing is a narrowing of the funnel for students coming from lower socioeconomic means, and that just means there is going to be fewer people who have the opportunity that prior generations had,” UW system President Jay Rothman said Monday in an interview with WPR. “This will reverberate across the board.”

Nearly half of the 164,400 students at Universities of Wisconsin schools rely on some form of federal aid. On Friday, the President also proposed wide-ranging cuts to federal higher education spending, including the elimination of work-study programs and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, which assist undergraduate students who have “exceptional financial need.”

Eric Fulcomer, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, or WAICU, said all of the proposals are concerning because they affect the families who need financial assistance the most.

WAICU represents the 22 private, nonprofit institutions of higher education in the state. Fulcomer said about 20,000 of the 53,000 students who attend Wisconsin’s private colleges depend on federal financial aid.

Fulcomer believes if the proposed changes are enacted it will affect enrollment at Wisconsin colleges and universities. Student loan changes being proposed include:

• Making several changes to Pell Grant awards and eligibility that would increase the threshold for “full-time” enrollment to 15 credit hours a semester, resulting in cuts in grant aid to students taking 12 credits.
• Eliminate Pell Grant eligibility for students enrolled at less than half-time, which often are working-class students.
• Limiting federal aid to the “median cost of college,” effectively establishing price controls on colleges and universities and forcing students to the private loan market.
• Capping graduate student borrowing at $100,000 for nonprofessional master’s degrees and $150,000 for professional degrees.
• Eliminating Grad PLUS loans and the in-school interest subsidy for undergraduates.

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