Here is what the platform handles and where your team picks up.
While Portico’s CORE Financial Aid software handles and automates most of the requirements around the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA or OB3 for short), human attention and institutional configuration still matters.
Knowing exactly what CORE handles automatically, what it flags for your review, and where your institutional decisions still live, makes all the difference.
What CORE can do today
The automated packaging algorithm accurately identifies the loan limits that apply to your affected student population.
CORE evaluates your population against the newly implemented grandfathering logic so that student eligibility is determined by packaging and expected graduation dates. Eligibility checks include enrollment status and confirmation of an awarded Direct Loan. The system then evaluates the program’s completion date to determine whether it extends beyond the three-year limit beginning July 1.
At the enrollment level, CORE evaluates key enrollment transitions—such as returns from an LOA, program withdrawals, or transfers into a new program.
These transitions may affect whether a student maintains prior loan eligibility or becomes subject to the new OB3 regulations. CORE provides notifications to surface these changes as students move through your programs.
Enforceable loan limits have already been updated in CORE across all categories.
We’ve also refined how the system distinguishes graduate, doctoral, and professional programs, so CORE can clearly identify professional degrees and apply the appropriate loan limits throughout. Because enrollment shifts can affect eligibility, CORE continuously monitors swaps, drops, and changes in enrollment status across cohorts, students, and programs, automatically evaluating those changes against loan eligibility so institutions don’t have to manage that level of complexity manually.
Whether your students are in their add/drop period or decide to change midstream or decrease credit hours, your enrollment thresholds are already built into the platform. CORE will assess that against all scheduled units and determine whether or not your loans need to be adjusted, reassessed, or left alone. All this while delivering a method to identify and adjust the loans that are affected before the students’ disbursement period commence.
Students that require your attention will be automatically flagged based on the OB3 criteria.
CORE will track the grandfather end dates for grandfathering and legacy rule tracking.
Institutional loan limit controls will also be available along with Pell eligibility updates based on external funding, scholarships, and grants.
OB3 graduate and professional classifications are tied to the new loan limits, with CORE supporting institutions in operationally attributing what constitutes a professional degree within psychology and theology programs where additional distinction may be required. Enrollment-based loan proration and professional loan limit alignments have been (and will continue to be) updated within CORE to keep you one step ahead: proactive, not reactive. The platform now allows configuration at the institutional level, giving FOA Admins the ability to set loan limit decisions by program for SUB, UNSUB, and PLUS in CORE. This design enables awarding up to Direct Cost from the loan level rather than the Funding Estimate level.
Policy Will Change.
Your Operational Stability Does Not Have To.
With Portico’s Financial Aid CORE software, OBBBA requirements remain manageable. Policy shifts are part of this landscape, but navigating them shouldn’t disrupt the stability of your operations.
CORE is designed to support institutions through regulatory change, helping you stay aligned, protected, and focused on what matters most: delivering the best possible outcomes for your students.
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Nan Murray is Financial Aid Product Manager at Portico, where she leads the design, improvement, and architecture of the financial aid software your team uses every day. She has eight years of experience in financial aid across higher education institutions.
This article is drawn from Portico's first OBBBA webinar. Watch the full session on YouTube and visit the OBBBA Resource Hub for guides, updates, and upcoming events as final guidance develops.
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Portico offers financial aid software and full managed services for career-focused schools. Portico replaces manual work and disconnected systems with automation, real-time updates, and built-in compliance checks. From document collection to disbursement and reconciliation, every step is connected and easier to manage.