The U.S. Department of Education has published in the Federal Register the second Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) from the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) initiative. This NPRM focuses specifically as it relates to Student Tuition and Transparency System and Earnings Accountability.
Under the proposed rule, if the typical graduate of an undergraduate program does not earn as much as a high school graduate, the program will no longer be eligible for federal student loans. Graduate programs must similarly lead to earnings above those of an average bachelor’s degree holder. Programs that routinely fail to provide students with a reliable return on investment would lose access to federal student loans, and in certain cases, 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,” said Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent. “This consensus-backed 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 NPRM will be open for public comment for 30 days. The Department must receive comments on or before May 20, 2026. The Department will consider and may make changes to the proposed regulations in response to substantive comments.
View the NPRM in the Federal Register here:
The first NPRM from the AHEAD initiative focused on the Pell Program and introduction of Workforce Pell. The public comment period for that NPRM concluded on April 8th.