One Big Beautiful Bill
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. For students, families, and institutions like JMU, this bill is significant because it changes some rules related to the federal aid (Title IV) programs. For example, the bill:
- Changes some rules for determining Pell Grant eligibility
- Modifies the Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan program
- Eliminates the Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan program
- Introduces new eligibility criteria and reporting requirements that could affect how aid is awarded and maintained
As of the development of this webpage, these changes are scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2026, and/or with the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student.
Potential Eliminiation of the Department of Education and Federal Student Aid
You may be seeing headlines and stories in the media about the possible elimination of the Department of Education, leading to concerns about obtaining financial aid.
JMU has not experienced any challenges in receiving federal Title IV financial aid funds for our students. The Title IV financial aid programs are:
- Federal Pell Grant
- Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG)
- Federal Work-Study
- Federal Direct Subsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan
- Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan
- Federal Direct Grad PLUS Loan
Eliminating the Department of Education and any of the Title IV financial aid programs requires an act of Congress; a Presidential Executive Order cannot accomplish this. While it’s true there have been some administrative changes at the Department of Education, to date, our processes have not been negatively impacted.
The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA) created an FAQ that answers some of the common questions students and parents have about this topic.
Rest assured, the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships at JMU is closely monitoring this situation. We will notify the JMU community if anything happens that prohibits us from accessing financial aid dollars for our students.
Mon - Fri 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Summer Hours of Operation:
Mon - Thur 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Fri 8 a.m. - 12 p.m.
