老司机福利网

老司机福利网 President Christopher Callahan is urging state legislators to support professional school and graduate students after the federal government eliminated the Grad PLUS student loan program for new borrowers beginning next year.

The Grad PLUS loan program began nearly 20 years ago and covers up to the full cost of tuition for students in graduate and professional programs. Many students who use the loans are pursuing careers in high-need health care fields.

The federal One Big Beautiful Bill, which was enacted in July, eliminates Grad PLUS loans for new borrowers beginning July 2026.

before the Assembly Higher Education Committee. As a member of the executive board of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, he was representing the state鈥檚 85+ independent schools and colleges, joining senior leaders representing the University of California, California State and California Community College systems.

The Pacific president told the committee that the Grad PLUS program has been 鈥渁 great investment鈥� for the federal government, opening the doors to more in professions where there are shortages. He noted that the program also has very low default rates鈥攁bout 2%.

Grad PLUS loans account for about $20 billion in lending nationally each year鈥�$2 billion in California alone. At Pacific, more than 25% of students fund their education through Grad PLUS loans as they pursue in-demand careers in the School of Health Sciences, the Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, the McGeorge School of Law, Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy and Benerd College.

Callahan told legislators the elimination of Grad PLUS loans 鈥減oses a grave threat to the creation of a highly qualified workforce in California and across the country.鈥�

鈥淭he majority of those Grad PLUS students are California's future doctors, dentists, nurses, clinical psychologists, pharmacists, social workers and others entering critically needed professions,鈥� he said.

鈥淪imply put, the elimination of the Grad PLUS program is bad for America, our economy, our competitiveness, our workforce and our nation's future.鈥�

Without Grad PLUS loans, many students would have to seek out commercial loans, but students from lower economic backgrounds may not qualify for those loans. For students with lower credit scores, Pacific and other universities are preparing to cover a portion of the risk for commercial lenders in a risk-share model, but students with the lowest credit scores would be ineligible for any commercial loan options, leaving them unable to pay for their education.

Callahan says the result will be widespread impacts to the workforce.

鈥淒o I believe there will be fewer social workers, counseling psychologists and pharmacists because of the elimination of the Grad PLUS loan? Yes, I do. Areas where there are already shortages,鈥� Callahan shared. 鈥淪econdly, in other professions, there may be just as many doctors and dentists, but they鈥檙e going to look very different. You鈥檙e going to have very few first-generation students, very few students coming up from much more modest means.鈥�

鈥淩ight now, Pacific and other schools have no solution for that group of deserving future health care professionals,鈥� Callahan told legislators. 鈥淒espite the state's own budget challenges, we hope the state will step in to help California universities meet this challenge in order to ensure a robust, diverse workforce in these critical health care fields and beyond.鈥�