U.S. President Donald Trump listens to his daughter and White House senior advisor Ivanka Trump speak as he participates in an American Workforce Policy Advisory Board meeting in the White House State Dining Room in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2019.

On Monday, the Trump administration released several proposed changes to the Higher Education Act, which is in the early stages of reauthorization by Congress. The proposal recommends reducing the number of federal loan repayment options and capping the amount of student loans that parents and graduate students can take on. Currently, Americans owe roughly $1.5 trillion in student loans, a 350 percent increase since 2003. As leader of the National Council for the American Worker, Ivanka Trump unveiled the plan and told reporters, "We need to modernize our higher education system to make it more affordable, flexible and outcomes-oriented, so all Americans, young and old, can learn the skills they need to secure and retain good-paying jobs." Here's how the proposed policies could impact borrowers:

Cutting repayment options

Students on campus of Yale University Yana Paskova/Getty Images

"Consolidating the programs and having more people be on an income-based plan is really not very controversial — it doesn't mean it's easy to pass, but it's not controversial. It's the specifics that are more controversial," Sandy Baum, nonresident fellow at the Urban Institute and professor emerita of economics at Skidmore College, tells CNBC Make It. Baum says the percentage of discretionary income owed and the years until forgiveness are subject to change. Some say the proposal would reduce borrowers' options, while others say it would simplify the repayment process. "The problem is we have five or six plans and people don't know the difference, and they all have different provisions," says Baum. "Another problem is that there are bureaucratic barriers to enrolling in these plans and to staying in them, because you have to verify your income every year."

Capping student loans