Moody’s Ratings issued a negative outlook for higher education in fiscal 2026, citing enrollment declines, rising expenses and political headwinds from federal policy shifts. The agency highlighted demographic pressures—the national population of high‑school graduates is projected to fall—and policy changes that could trim federal supports and reshape graduate borrowing, notably barriers to Grad PLUS loans. That caution comes as Pew’s analysis documents at least 15 states that proposed or enacted cuts to public university funding this year. Institutions from the University System of Maryland to regional publics have enacted hiring freezes, program cuts, deferred maintenance and tuition moves to shore up budgets. Moody’s analysts warned that colleges with heavy master’s‑level enrollments or large tuition dependencies are most vulnerable to liquidity and margin pressure.