On March 20, the University of Wisconsin-Superior received an executive order signed by President Donald Trump that aims to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and return majority of its functions back to the states.
Speaking at a Student Government Association meeting, UW-Superior Chancellor Renee Wachter said that they are closely monitoring its effects on student loans. “Just a couple of hours ago they announced that that should be moving to Small Business Administration, but we don’t know exactly what that will look like in practice, so continuing to monitor that,” said Wachter.
According to the executive order, Trump claims that closing the Department of Education (DOE) will allow American families to escape a system that is failing them and ensure success for students. Trump stated at a press conference that after 45 years the U.S. spends more on education than any other country and yet ranks low in terms of education success.
“It’s idiotic,” said Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers after a roundtable discussion at the Richard I. Bong Veterans Historical Center with Douglas County veterans. “They admitted that they can’t close it down because it was passed by the legislature and funded by the legislature,” said Evers. “We’re going to have to rebuild everything from scratch. Really stupid policy.”
On February 4 the DOE revised the gender options on its 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid form, limiting the choices to male or female. According to the Universities of Wisconsin, this revision will not affect students who have submitted a 2024-25 or 2025-26 FAFSA form, unless a student initiates a correction to any submitted data. The revision will not affect those students’ eligibility for federal student aid.
The UW System will provide more updated information to confirm whether the president’s order will affect federal student aid in the current semester. Chancellor Renee Wachter will also host a student briefing on these changes on April 14 from noon to 1 p.m. in the YU.
