What Students Need to Know
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) introduces changes to federal student loan programs that affect how some students and families pay for college.
Contact Information
Plant Hall, Room 427
401 W. Kennedy Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33606-1490
Phone: (813) 253-6219
Email: finaid@ut.edu
While most students will continue to have access to federal aid, graduate and professional students—and parents of dependent undergraduates—will see the biggest changes starting in July 2026.
We recognize that changes to financial aid can be concerning. Our financial aid team is closely reviewing the legislation and federal guidance to understand how these updates affect our students. Contact us for help understanding how to combine federal aid, scholarships and other options to make UTampa affordable.
What This Means for Me
- You will still have access to federal student loans and other forms of financial aid.
- If your parent plans to use a Parent PLUS Loan, there will be new borrowing limits starting July 1, 2026.
- New loan proration requirements apply based on your enrollment status. Students enrolled less than full-time—including those who drop or withdraw from courses and fall below full-time—are not eligible for the full annual loan amount.
- These limits may affect how families plan to cover educational costs, so early financial planning will be especially important.
- The aggregate and annual amount full-time students can take in federal student loans does not change under the new law.
- New loan proration requirements apply based on your student’s enrollment status. Students enrolled less than full-time—including those who drop or withdraw from courses and fall below full-time—are not eligible for the full annual loan amount.
- If you received a direct loan disbursement (including proceeds from a Parent PLUS Loan) before July 1, 2026, your parents may continue borrowing under the rules in effect for the 2025-2026 financial aid award year for up to three years. See Legacy (Grandfather) Provisions section below for more information.
- We recommend staying in touch with Financial Aid so we can help you plan for future years if borrowing limits come into play.
- There are no changes to the annual unsubsidized loan limit for graduate students.
- Your aggregate loan limit will be lower than in the past, with new lifetime caps. More information is available on the Loans page of our website.
- If you received a direct loan disbursement (including proceeds from a Graduate PLUS Loan) before July 1, 2026, for the same program of study you were enrolled in as of June 30, 2026, you may continue borrowing under the rules in effect for the 2025-2026 financial aid award year for up to three years. See Legacy (Grandfather) Provisions section below for more information on requirements.
- If you plan to enroll in a new program of study after July 1, 2026, Graduate PLUS Loans will no longer be available, and the new aggregate and lifetime loan limits apply.
- We encourage you to plan early and connect with Financial Aid to discuss funding strategies.
Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), “professional students” are defined by the U.S. Department of Education as students enrolled in specific doctoral-level programs that prepare individuals for licensed professions—such as medicine, law, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, and clinical psychology. These programs typically require at least six years of postsecondary education and professional licensure to practice.
The University of Tampa does not currently offer any academic programs that meet this federal definition of a professional degree. As a result, the new federal loan limits and changes specific to professional programs do not directly apply to UTampa students.
We continue to monitor federal guidance closely in case definitions or regulations change in the future.
- For new borrowers July 1, 2026, and later, Parent PLUS Loans will be limited to:
- $20,000 per year per student
- $65,000 total per student (lifetime limit)
- If your student received a disbursement under the federal direct loan program or one of their parents borrowed Parent PLUS Loans before July 1, 2026, you may continue under the rules in effect for the 2025-2026 financial aid award year for up to three years. See Legacy (Grandfather) Provisions section below for more information on requirements.
- These changes may affect long-term planning, and our team is available to discuss alternative strategies.
Quick FAQs
Legacy (Grandfather) Provisions
What are legacy (or “grandfather”) provisions?
These provisions allow students and families to continue using the federal financial aid rules that were in place for the 2025–2026 academic year for up to three additional academic years (2028-2029), or for the remainder of the expected time to complete your degree--whichever comes first.
If you stop meeting any requirement, your eligibility for the legacy provisions ends right away. For example, if you take a break from enrollment, you will no longer meet the “continuous enrollment” requirement and will immediately lose access to the legacy financial aid rules.
Who qualifies?
Eligibility and the benefits of legacy provisions varies by aid program, described above.
You qualify for legacy provisions if all of the following apply:
- You are a graduate student
- A federal direct loan (unsubsidized or Graduate PLUS) for the student was first disbursed before July 1, 2026, and
- You remain continuously enrolled in the same program of study and at the same institution as you were enrolled as of June 30, 2026.
What this allows:
- You may continue borrowing Graduate PLUS Loans.
Legacy provisions apply per student, not per parent.
You qualify if:
- A federal direct loan (Parent PLUS, subsidized or unsubsidized) for the student was first disbursed before July 1, 2026, and
- Your dependent student remains continuously enrolled in the same program of study* and at the same institution as you were enrolled as of June 30, 2026.
What this allows:
- Parents may continue borrowing Parent PLUS loans for as much as the Cost of Attendance minus other aid awarded, with no lifetime limit.
*For the purpose of determining Parent PLUS loan legacy status only, a student is considered to be a the same degree program if they change majors within the same degree or certificate type (i.e. associates degree or bachelor’s degree). This feature of legacy provision is unique to the Parent PLUS loan program.
- Eligibility requirements for these loan programs do not change under the new law.
- Legacy provisions do not apply to the new loan proration requirement.
We’re Here to Help
If you have questions about how these changes apply to your situation, we encourage you to reach out—we’re here to help you navigate this.
