After months of pauses, loan discharges for some federal borrowers enrolled in an income-driven repayment plan are poised to resume within weeks, restarting a relief pipeline that had been stalled for most of the year. The move will directly affect repayment flows and federal student-aid casework at institutions and servicers. At the same time, a new brief from the Pell Institute found long-term declines in students’ degree aspirations: the share of students expecting to earn a bachelor’s degree fell from 72% in 2002 to 44% in 2022. The drop is most acute among first-generation students, who fell from 60% to 33% in that period, raising alarms for access and pipeline strategies. The twin developments—resumption of targeted loan discharges and falling college aspirations—create a mixed policy picture for campus leaders: short-term relief for qualifying borrowers but persistent long-term challenges around affordability, outreach, and the perceived return on a degree.