The Republican domestic policy bill that cleared Congress on Thursday has far-reaching implications for colleges and students, and could make attending college less accessible, higher education leaders said.

The bill would expand the tax on endowments that universities use for financial aid, roll back student loan protections and cap the amount students can borrow for graduate programs.

The bill would “make college less affordable,” said Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, adding that schools could become less economically and racially diverse.

Republicans have said that the measures impose accountability on a sector that has failed to police itself. The caps on student borrowing are intended to rein in ballooning graduate student debt, they say, and the tax on university endowments, which schools often use to provide financial aid, fulfills a Trump campaign promise to target the nation’s wealthiest schools.

The student loan changes are expected to save the government more than $300 billion over a decade, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate.

It comes as the Trump administration has unleashed an attack on colleges and universities, cutting research grants and making it harder for international students to enroll. The administration has singled out top schools like Harvard, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania. But the bill shows that the Republican agenda for higher education extends far beyond the Ivy League.

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