The Department of Education’s RISE Committee concluded its second and final week of negotiations on November 7, reaching full consensus on all proposed regulatory concepts. With consensus achieved, the Department will now draft regulatory text reflecting these agreed-upon positions. While the formal language has not yet been released, the Week 2 sessions provided important clarity in several high-impact areas.
This brief summarizes only the outcomes of the Week 2 discussions to help institutions prepare for implementation once regulations are published.
1. Less-Than-Full-Time Proration Requirements
The Committee finalized the structure for prorating annual Federal Direct Loan eligibility when a student enrolls less than full time.
Proration Method
- Proration is based on academic-year credits, not term-by-term enrollment.
- Formula:
- Credits in academic year ÷ Full-time credits for the academic year × 100 = Proration percentage
- The percentage is applied to the annual loan limit.
Recalculation Rules
- Schools must recalculate at the time of each disbursement.
- If a student drops credits after a disbursement, no recalculation is required for that payment period.
- The reduced eligibility is applied at the next disbursement.
Single-Payment-Period Borrowers
- For students receiving a loan for only one payment period, proration will be based on the full-time credit standard for that term, not the full academic-year standard.
Clarifications Issued
- ED corrected earlier confusion: Week 2 confirmed that double proration should not occur for part-time students.
- End-of-program proration remains under review; ED will provide examples in the draft rule.
- Rules do not apply to subscription-based or non-term programs.
- ED will revise the regulations governing substantially equal disbursements to align with the new framework.
Illustrative Scenarios Discussed
- Full-time to half-time to full-time: Only the next disbursement is affected.
- Overload in one term, underload in another: Extra credits do not increase loan limits.
- Single-term loan: Prorated once based on that term’s full-time standard.
- Final-term enrollment: Proration based on remaining credits; additional end-of-program rules forthcoming.
2. Legacy (Grandfathered) Student Eligibility
Negotiators finalized the framework for determining whether students may continue borrowing under current loan limits for up to three academic years or the remainder of their expected time to credential.
Legacy Qualification Requirements
A borrower retains existing annual and aggregate limits if:
- Enrolled in the same program of study as of June 30, 2026, and
- Received any Direct Loan for that program prior to July 1, 2026, and
- Remains continuously enrolled
- Official Title IV Leave of Absence is permitted.
Defining “Same Program of Study”
- Changing majors within the same degree or certificate = qualifies for undergraduate programs only
- BA ↔ BS = qualifies
- Associate → Bachelor = does not qualify
- Bachelor → Master / Dual-degree progression = does not qualify (ED to issue final clarification)
- Students without a declared major who later declare = qualify
Additional Clarifications
- Any Direct Loan, including an unsubsidized loan, counts for legacy qualification.
- HEAL loans will qualify for legacy treatment, though no new HEAL loans will be made.
3. Professional Student Definition
Week 2 included a detailed walkthrough of the Department’s proposed definition of a professional student, which determines access to higher annual and aggregate loan limits.
Definition Framework Agreed To
A Professional Degree must:
- Prepare a student to begin licensed professional practice
- Be generally at the doctoral level
- Require at least two years of post-baccalaureate coursework
- Fall within the same four-digit CIP code grouping as existing professional programs
Program List Discussed
Programs remain anchored to the existing list, with the following fields acknowledged in Week 2:
Medicine
- Dentistry
- Veterinary Medicine
- Pharmacy
- Optometry
- Law
- Osteopathic Medicine
- Podiatry
- Chiropractic
- Theology
- Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.) — newly added
Expansion Considered
- Approximately 44 programs may qualify under the CIP-based expansion model.
- ED demonstrated openness to revising the “six academic years” requirement to Bachelor’s + 2 postgraduate years.
- Discussion will continue during drafting; consensus allows ED to move forward with this conceptual framework.
4. Optional Program-Specific Borrowing Caps
The Committee discussed permissive authority for institutions to implement program-level borrowing caps.
Key Points from Week 2
- Caps would be optional, not mandatory.
- Institutions choosing to adopt caps must develop:
- A consistent methodology
- Communication frameworks
- Systems capability to track and enforce limits
No prescriptive formula was proposed; the Department will address implementation considerations in the draft rule.
5. HEAL Loans
ED confirmed the following in Week 2 discussions:
- No new HEAL loans will be made after the new rules take effect.
- Borrowers with existing HEAL loans will be treated as legacy borrowers for purposes of continued eligibility.
What Comes Next
With consensus achieved, the Department will draft proposed regulatory text reflecting Week 2 outcomes. Once published, institutions will have the opportunity to comment before final regulations are issued.
McClintock & Associates will provide a detailed analysis of the published text and its operational implications once available.
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