New College Accountability Metric Published for Public Comment

The Department of Education released its third and final set of regulations related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for public comment Friday. 

This proposal fleshes out a new accountability metric designed to test the return on investment of each degree program at more than 4,000 colleges and universities. (The previous two—for which public comment has already closed—outlined new graduate student loan caps and an expansion of the Pell Grant for short-term job training programs.) 

If the regulations are finalized, undergraduate programs would be required to show that their average graduate earns more than a working adult with only a high school degree. The same would be true for graduate programs, but students’ earning would be compared to a bachelor’s degree holder.

Programs that fail the test for two out of three consecutive years would lose access to federal student loans, and in certain circumstances a program could eventually lose access to the Pell Grant as well.

The metric is slated to take effect July 1, but first it has to remain open to public comment for 30 days and then the department must respond to every submission. Only 30 days after that can the rule become final.

Department officials described the regulations as a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to address the student debt crisis by reining in unsustainable loans, addressing workforce needs and seeking to hold all institutions equally accountable. 

“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,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in a news release. “[This] framework will drive meaningful change in postsecondary education, ending years of regulatory whiplash and addressing student debt that has left too many students worse off.”

The metric was first debated by a committee of policy experts, college administrators, student advocates and state executive officers in January. And though the committee’s negotiations eventually ended in a unanimous vote of approval, it received significant pushback throughout the process and multiple changes were made to get all committee members on board. 

Career Education Colleges and Universities, a leading association for for-profit institutions, said in a statement Friday that while the proposal is “a dramatic improvement” over past accountability metrics, “several problems in the accountability formula remain unresolved.” The association’s concerns included the lack of consideration for regional wage differences and differentiation of part-time versus full-time work, among others. 

“We will be submitting comments to address the serious flaws and offer recommendations to fix the accountability formula,” wrote CECU president Jason Altmire.

Public comment will be open until May 20.