The U.S. Department of Education has proposed new rules aimed at holding colleges and universities accountable for programs that leave students with low-earning jobs as the federal student loan debt nears $1.7 trillion.
The proposal, outlined in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, would establish an accountability framework designed to address concerns that many students are financially worse off than if they had not attended college.
The plan is backed by the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which is a part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which aims to cut taxes, according to the department.
Under the proposal, programs that fail to meet earnings benchmarks in two out of three consecutive years could lose access to federal student loans. If failing programs account for at least half of an institution’s federal financial aid recipients or funding, they could also lose eligibility for Pell Grants.
“The Trump Administration’s proposed accountability framework is grounded in common sense: if postsecondary education programs do not leave graduates better off, taxpayers should not subsidize them,” Nicholas Kent, the under secretary of education, said in a statement.
The department said it would use census data to measure graduates’ earnings four years after leaving school. Undergraduate program graduates would be required to earn more than the median income of working adults ages 25 to 34 who hold only a high school diploma and are not enrolled in higher education.
Student debt levels continue to rise across the states.
