Washington Update: July 2025 Reconciliation Bill’s Impact on Higher Ed
Release Date: 07/22/2025
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Higher education enters 2026 under conditions that are no longer hypothetical. In this 8th annual end-of-year episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton is joined by Tom Netting of TEN Government Strategies to review how the predictions made at the end of 2024 played out during the 2025 operating year and what those outcomes mean for institutional planning in 2026. Rather than offering speculative forecasts, this episode uses 2025 as a calibration year. When predictions materialize, they remove ambiguity. They clarify which pressures are structural, which risks persist,...
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Strategic Insights from the 2025 AAC&U Employer Survey: What Employers Want From Higher Education
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Higher Education Communication Strategy Under Political Pressure and Crisis Risk
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Higher education communication is no longer a marketing function. It is a strategic discipline shaped by political pressure, governance risk, and real-time public scrutiny. In this episode of the , speaks with , Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Americas at , about how university presidents and boards must rethink how communication functions inside their institutions under today’s crisis-driven conditions. Drawing on more than two decades of enterprise and higher education communications leadership, Maffei explains why internal communication now determines external...
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How Higher Ed Leaders Can Take Back the Public Narrative
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Higher education is facing a growing disconnect between and the realities of campus life. In this episode of the , speaks with , CNN political analyst, filmmaker, and director of , about how institutions can reclaim their narrative and through authentic human stories. This conversation is especially relevant for presidents, trustees, and senior leaders navigating public skepticism, political pressure, and communication environments where external voices often define higher education’s story. Some of the Topics Covered The forces driving negative public narratives about higher education...
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Innovation in Higher Education: How Leaders Build the Capacity to Adapt
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Higher education leaders are being asked to innovate faster than their institutions are built to move. This episode of Changing Higher Ed explores how presidents and boards can change that. Dr. Drumm McNaughton speaks with Erika Liodice, Executive Director of the Alliance for Innovation and Transformation (AFIT), about how institutions can strengthen their innovation capacity through futures thinking, cross-sector insight, and structured team-based planning. Topics Covered: How futures thinking helps leaders anticipate demographic, workforce, and technology shifts Why innovation efforts fail...
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Accreditation Trends and WASC Priorities for Student Success
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are shifting under rising accountability pressures, financial constraints, and increased scrutiny of student outcomes. This episode of the features , President and CEO of the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), in a strategic conversation with about how institutions can strengthen accreditation readiness and support stronger student success. This episode is essential for presidents, provosts, trustees, and senior leaders responsible for accreditation, mission alignment, evidence systems, governance oversight, and long-term institutional resilience. Topics Covered How...
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The Real Cost of Overlooking Teaching Quality in Higher Ed
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Improving how teaching happens in the classroom is one of the most effective ways to increase student retention, stabilize tuition revenue, and strengthen institutional reputation—yet most universities don’t manage it strategically. In this episode of , speaks with , Associate Professor at the University of Iowa and author of The Missing Course, about how teaching quality has fallen outside institutional oversight and what presidents and boards can do to make it a core part of strategic leadership. They explore how governance structures, incentive systems, and faculty preparation create a...
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Free Speech on College Campuses: Insights from FIRE's 2025 Report
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Free speech on college campuses has become one of higher education’s most volatile and defining challenges. In this episode, talks with , Chief Research Advisor at FIRE—the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression—about findings from FIRE’s newly released and the state of academic freedom, the growing political pressures on universities, and how presidents and boards can protect open dialogue in today’s divided climate. Topics Covered: Why FIRE expanded its mission beyond higher education and no longer stands for “Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.” How...
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Aligning Higher Education Strategy and Programs with Workforce Needs and Student Value
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Host welcomes , president of the University of North Texas and former Texas commissioner of higher education. This episode of the helps higher education presidents, boards, and senior leaders rethink how to connect institutional mission with workforce readiness. It explores how institutions can better align employer partnerships, faculty innovation, and experiential learning to ensure graduates gain both economic and civic value from their degrees. Listeners will hear how the University of North Texas is translating statewide strategy into campus-level change—showing what’s possible when...
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Holistic Enrollment Strategy and Management: Filling the Enrollment Pipeline
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At one of the smallest graduate schools in the nation, a system built to serve just over a hundred students is redefining how higher education can grow. CUNY’s Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism has proven that scale isn’t the key to enrollment stability—structure is. By integrating admissions, student affairs, career services, and alumni engagement into one cohesive unit, the school has created a holistic enrollment strategy and management model that continuously fills its pipeline while centering student success. In this episode of the Changing Higher...
info_outlineHigher education leaders are facing the most sweeping set of federal regulatory and funding changes in over a decade. In this Washington Update episode of the Changing Higher Ed® podcast, Dr. Drumm McNaughton welcomes back frequent guest Tom Netting, president of TEN Government Strategies, to discuss the July 2025 budget reconciliation bill—federal legislation that significantly alters student loans, Pell Grants, institutional accountability, and the rules governing program eligibility.
While not a formal reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, the bill introduces statutory earnings-based accountability for degree programs, lifetime loan caps, professional judgment changes, and new eligibility requirements for short-term Pell programs.
Netting also discusses concurrent developments in accreditation and distance education oversight, including the rise of a new accreditor in Florida and its potential implications for NC-SARA and federal triad stability.
This episode is a must-listen for presidents, trustees, CFOs, and compliance officers preparing for upcoming reporting deadlines, new negotiated rulemaking cycles, and long-term institutional planning under new federal constraints.
Topics Covered
- How the July 2025 reconciliation bill rewrites federal student aid and accountability rules
- What the new earnings-based accountability measure means for degree programs
- Pell Grant expansion for short-term workforce programs and the required outcomes thresholds
- The elimination of Grad PLUS loans and new lifetime borrowing caps for students and families
- Changes to professional judgment authority and how institutions can apply it by cohort
- New 90/10 revenue guidance and how it affects distance education classifications
- Delayed implementation of Borrower Defense and Closed School Discharge regulations
- The emergence of Florida’s state-based accreditor and its expected NACIQI review
- Why NC-SARA recognition may be impacted by nontraditional accreditation
- The likelihood of a second reconciliation bill or technical corrections package
Three Key Takeaways for Leadership
- Institutional leaders must prepare now for dual accountability frameworks and new reporting obligations.
- Expanded professional judgment offers new flexibility but must be applied with consistency and clear documentation.
- Accreditation and state authorization pathways are shifting—compliance teams must monitor evolving standards across federal and state lines.
This episode provides critical insights for leaders navigating a changing regulatory environment, with practical implications for finance, compliance, and academic planning.
Recommended For: Presidents, trustees, chief financial officers, compliance officers, and accreditation liaisons responsible for institutional strategy and Title IV eligibility.
Read the transcript: https://changinghighered.com/washington-update-july-2025-reconciliation-bill-impact-on-higher-ed/
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