COHEAO’s “Mapping the Gap” report shows how the new federal limits may create operational challenges for clinical programs and smaller institutions while opening strategic financing opportunities for some well-resourced campuses.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations (COHEAO) today released Mapping the Gap: The New Graduate and Professional Loan Caps & The Uneven Exposure Across Higher Education, a national report examining how new federal graduate and professional student loan limits may affect students, institutions, healthcare workforce preparation, and campus operations.
Beginning July 1, 2026, Grad PLUS borrowing will be eliminated for new borrowers, and new annual and aggregate federal loan limits will apply. Graduate programs will generally be subject to a $20,500 annual federal limit and a $100,000 aggregate graduate borrowing limit, while programs that qualify as professional programs will be subject to higher limits.
The report builds from publicly available graduate and professional loan-limit data developed by the American University Postsecondary Education and Economics Research Center, drawing on Department of Education data for Academic Years 2021–2023. COHEAO uses that public baseline to examine how potential financing pressure may vary by program cluster, institution type, state, repayment environment, and response capacity.
Using COHEAO’s program-cluster framework, the report highlights patient-facing healthcare (PFHC) as the largest and most policy-relevant area of modeled exposure, accounting for approximately $6.1 billion — about 70 percent — under the report’s broad workforce definition. The category includes clinical healthcare, allied health, behavioral health, clinical social work, counseling and therapy, and related fields.
The PFHC concentration is especially important because many of these programs are tied to clinical and workforce preparation but do not always fit neatly into federal loan-limit categories. COHEAO’s public-facing PFHC framework includes approximately $2.97 billion in core clinical healthcare exposure, approximately $1.56 billion in allied health exposure, and approximately $563.8 million in advanced and clinical nursing exposure.
“COHEAO’s members work directly with students and families navigating the financial realities of higher education every day. Many programs that communities rely on for clinical workforce preparation face new financing challenges under this new cap structure,” said Karen Reddick, President of COHEAO. “Institutions will need clear communication, coordinated student support, and early planning to help students understand their options before financing questions become enrollment, persistence, or student-account issues.”
The report also shows that exposure varies not only by program, but by campus environment and response capacity. Under COHEAO’s working high-brand definition, 166 institutions account for approximately $3.3 billion in modeled exposure and may have stronger alumni, employer, health-system, advancement, or institutional resources to support targeted responses. Private nonprofit institutions with fewer than 5,000 undergraduate students account for approximately $1.9 billion in modeled exposure, highlighting where smaller institutions may face sharper operational pressure if exposure is concentrated in a small number of graduate or professional programs.
“The new caps should not be viewed as a uniform national shock, but as a localized transition,” said Wes Huffman, Strategic Advisor to COHEAO. “While the change creates distinct student-account and access pressures for some institutions, it also offers well-resourced campuses an opportunity to design proactive, targeted financing strategies.”
For institutions, the findings point to practical planning questions:
• Which programs have borrowing patterns above the new caps?
• Where could gaps show up as unpaid balances or larger payment plans?
• Are private loan options likely to be available on workable terms?
• What role could employers, alumni, foundations, or institutional partners play?
Repayment context and private-market capacity are also central to the transition. Private and state-based education lenders may expand in response to the policy change, but greater market capacity does not guarantee access for students. Some students may have difficulty finding a creditworthy cosigner, face higher rates, be denied, or be discouraged from applying. Prepared with analytical and drafting support from Campus Access Partners, the report uses the GAP Index framework to organize exposure across programs, institutions, states, repayment environments, credit conditions, and campus operations. It is intended to serve as a practical planning resource for campuses and policymakers.
The initial report was released in connection with COHEAO’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and is part of a broader Mapping the Gap series. COHEAO expects to release a companion analysis focused on patient-facing healthcare programs shortly after the conference, including additional detail on clinical, allied health, behavioral health, and related workforce exposure, as well as how professional-degree definitions could affect the exposure map.
Mapping the Gap is available at: https://coheao.org/mapping-the-gap/
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About COHEAO
The Coalition of Higher Education Assistance Organizations is a partnership of colleges, universities, and organizations dedicated to promoting access to postsecondary education. COHEAO members work across student accounts, campus-based lending, payment plans, servicing, collections, borrower support, and higher education finance operations.
Media Contacts: Donna Stelling-Gurnett: dgurnett@hinmanstraub.com