Last week, the Department of Education released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would establish a postsecondary education accountability framework imposing stricter rules related to federal student loans and earning thresholds.
Under the proposed rule, if the typical graduate of a particular program does not earn as much as a high school graduate, the program would be ineligible for federal student loans. Similarly, graduate programs would need to demonstrate leading to earnings above those of an average bachelor’s degree holder.
These accountability measures stem from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the agency characterizes this as the latest step in a promise to “break the cycle of low return on investment for students and taxpayers.”
The full NPRM can be found here.