Trump Team Shakes Up Higher Ed Accountability

Clear Facts

• Liberal regulators previously targeted career and faith-based schools with stricter rules while ignoring poorly performing public and private programs.
• President Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon introduced a new accountability framework, including an “earnings premium” standard that applies to all colleges.
• The Gainful Employment Rule, which had focused only on career colleges, was repealed to restore fairness and competition in higher education.

For years, progressive activists and bureaucrats used federal regulations to place disproportionate burdens on career and faith-based schools, while letting public and private institutions with poor outcomes avoid scrutiny.

President Trump and Secretary McMahon took decisive action to ensure all schools, regardless of type, are responsible for preparing students for successful careers.

Last week, Secretary McMahon’s Department of Education concluded the AHEAD negotiated rulemaking, reaching a rare consensus on new rules.

This effort aims to set the same standards for every institution, focusing on how graduates fare in the workforce.

The new “earnings premium” test, required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, measures whether graduates’ median incomes meet fair benchmarks four years after graduation.

If programs do not meet this standard in two out of three years, they risk losing eligibility for federal student aid.

With this safeguard in place for all schools, the committee repealed the Obama-era Gainful Employment Rule, which had unfairly targeted career colleges.

The Gainful Employment Rule from the Obama and Biden administrations specifically pressured proprietary and faith-based institutions, undermining school choice and innovation.

It subjected career colleges to stricter rules while exempting public and private schools, despite evidence these mainstream programs often failed to deliver results.

Studies show that most violations of the debt-to-earnings standard would occur at public and private universities, yet these were not held accountable under previous rules.

President Trump and Secretary McMahon recognized that accountability, competition, and student choice are key to better educational outcomes.

They moved quickly to restore a level playing field and remove policies that restricted options for students and families.

Secretary McMahon was willing to bring in bold leadership to reform education policy, appointing Nicholas Kent as Undersecretary and Jeff Andrade as Deputy Assistant Secretary to drive meaningful change.

“The AHEAD committee’s work will help ‘break the cycle of student debt and poor return on investment for students and end the regulatory whiplash that has occurred for far too long,’ Undersecretary Kent said this month. ‘We look forward to holding all programs—across all post-secondary institutions—accountable.'”

Advocates for free market solutions, such as Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, have long called for repealing the Gainful Employment Rule and restoring fairness for all schools.

The Trump administration’s actions promise a better future for students and taxpayers, but Congress is urged to solidify these reforms into law to prevent future overreach.

Secretary McMahon and her team are credited with prioritizing students, families, and taxpayers as American higher education returns to its core mission.

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