University of Hawaiʻi students who rely on loans to support their academic journeys may have to reevaluate how much they’re looking to borrow.
Several parts of the federal spending bill signed on the Fourth of July directly impact the funding and loans available to students after July 2026. This includes changes to the PLUS Loan program, which is offered to graduate students and parents to cover up to their full tuition cost.
The Grad PLUS Loan section of the program was eliminated completely. The Parent PLUS Loan is capped at a total of $65,000, with a limit of $20,000 per year.
UH System President Wendy Hensel said university leadership will continue monitoring how these cuts will impact students and future enrollment.
“We are taking steps here to ensure that we are mitigating our risk and monitoring our financial health and well-being,” Hensel said.
Federal loans for graduate students now also have a limit. They can take out up to $20,500 per year, with a lifetime cap of $100,000.
Students pursuing professional programs, like law or medical school, can take out up to $50,000 per year, with a total limit of $200,000.
Loan limits for undergraduate students have not been affected by the federal bill.
Hensel also noted that a new system, the Strategic Investment and Risk Diffusion Fund, is being used to manage campus-wide funding and spending. This fund will be a centralized system that includes the tuition and fees special fund and reserve balances.
“We're also very excited because it provides a consistent and equitable baseline standard of care for students, as it allows us to look across the system and manage different levels of funding,” Hensel said.
The next meeting will be in August to finalize the university system’s 18-month action plan.
