Event Overview
Shaping the Future of Student Lending: Strategy, Risk, and Market Opportunity in 2026
The U.S. student loan system is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades. Federal reforms enacted in 2025—and taking full effect in 2026—are fundamentally reshaping how higher education is financed, repaid, and overseen. Simplified federal repayment options, stricter borrowing limits, the removal of key loan programs, and the restart of vigorous collection efforts are redefining the scope of federal involvement and altering long-standing assumptions about borrower protection, repayment behavior, and portfolio performance.
As federal dominance diminishes, private lenders, institutional investors, servicers, and public-private partnerships are taking on a more central role in the education finance ecosystem. This change is not just filling funding gaps—it is also transforming how risk is underwritten, how borrower relationships are managed over time, and how long-term value is generated across student lending portfolios. Market participants are being asked to balance profitability with responsibility, innovation with compliance, and growth with borrower outcomes.
For industry leaders, this moment signifies more than just a regulatory change. It is a critical turning point—one that will shape competitive strategies, product development, capital decisions, and policy engagement for years ahead. Those who understand the significance of these reforms—and act quickly—will influence and shape the future of education finance and student lending.
What’s Changing in 2026 and Why It Matters
The student lending landscape is undergoing one of the most significant transformations in decades. In 2026, policy shifts, market forces, and regulatory changes are converging to redefine how education is financed—and who succeeds in this new environment.
Together, these shifts are redefining access, affordability, and accountability, fundamentally reshaping the future of higher education and workforce finance.
This future will be led by organizations that can adapt quickly, innovate responsibly, and align financial performance with sustainable borrower outcomes.
The iiBIG 17th Education Finance & Student Loan Symposium convenes the senior leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators shaping this next chapter—offering a premier platform to gain critical insight, influence policy dialogue, identify new market opportunities, and forge the partnerships that will define student lending in 2026 and beyond.
Key Symposium Topics
- New repayment structures under RAP
- Elimination of income-driven repayment plans and Grad PLUS loans
- Borrowing caps and system-wide implications
- Resumption of wage garnishment and enforced collections
- Portfolio-level default mitigation strategies
- Aligning enforcement with borrower engagement
- Filling federal financing gaps responsibly
- Product design for graduate, professional, and nontraditional borrowers
- Underwriting innovation and risk modeling
- Identifying populations most affected by federal retrenchment
- Hybrid financing and public-private partnerships
- Integrating social impact with financial performance
- Updates on PSLF and legacy programs
- Managing tax and regulatory uncertainty
- Long-term strategic planning for lenders and borrowers
- Employer-supported repayment and workforce-aligned financing
- Income-share agreements and post-completion tools
- Digital engagement and borrower retention strategies
- Collaboration across lenders, policymakers, and institutions
- Designing next-generation education finance models
- Building a sustainable, responsible, and profitable ecosystem
Who Should Attend
The 17th Education Finance and Student Loan Symposium is the premier gathering for executive leaders, innovators, and decision-makers driving the future of student lending and workforce finance. This is the place to connect, collaborate, and gain exclusive insights that can shape strategy and policy in an era of unprecedented change.
This symposium is ideal for:
Why Attend the Event
For 17 years, iiBIG has served as a trusted national convener, bringing together senior leaders, policymakers, investors, and innovators to tackle the most pressing challenges—and opportunities—shaping education finance. This symposium builds on that legacy, offering a proven platform where insight leads to action and collaboration drives impact.
This symposium is more than a discussion. It is a strategic platform built on 17 years of leadership and credibility, where industry leaders exchange insight, influence dialogue, identify new opportunities, and form the partnerships that will shape the future of student lending and education finance.
