Colleges face three major federal policy changes this year that will reshape finances and access: the Grad PLUS program will end and new graduate borrowing caps take effect July 1; the administration is finalizing regulatory changes on international enrollment and other higher-education rules; and Congress is negotiating appropriations that could cut campus aid programs. Experts at the Council of Independent Colleges warned institutional leaders to prepare for the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and pending rulemaking, while appropriations proposals diverge sharply in the House and Senate over work-study and campus grant programs. Presidents were urged to engage policymakers as implementation timetables accelerate.