Welcome back to After the First 100 Days, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly roundup of news from the Hill to the Oval Office. I’m your host, Katherine Knott, Inside Higher Ed’s news editor who has mostly stuck to her resolutions so far.
It’s Day 354 of the second Trump administration, and while you were celebrating the holidays and the new year, the Justice Department declared a slew of Department of Education programs and grants unconstitutional, Virginia agreed to end in-state tuition for undocumented students, and the National Institutes of Health approved hundreds of stalled or denied grant applications.
But let’s talk about accountability and regs. Just before the new year, the Education Department released its plans to rework gainful employment and implement a new earnings test that Congress passed last summer. The earnings test, called Do No Harm, applies to all programs except undergraduate certificates, whereas gainful employment only covers certificates and for-profits.
The department’s plan is essentially to create a single earnings test that all programs must pass and lessening the penalty for failure to only include the loss of access to federal student loans. Gainful employment requires programs to show that their graduates can pay off their student loans, but that provision is nixed in ED’s proposal.
About 6 percent of programs would fail the earnings test, including about 29 percent of undergraduate certificates. The failing programs enroll about 650,000 students who receive federal aid, according to department data. Of those students, more than half attend a for-profit institution. Advocates say allowing failing programs to still receive Pell funds doesn’t protect students.
After four days of talks, the committee doesn’t appear likely to reach consensus, Inside Higher Ed’s Jessica Blake reports. The department has made some smaller changes but not addressed the key issues dividing the committee. Reminder: If the committee doesn’t reach consensus, the department is free to propose any changes to the regulation it wants, which could include scrapping gainful employment entirely. I’m watching the final meeting now and will have more for you this afternoon about the consensus vote.
In Other News: Congress is back in session, and congressional Republicans are hoping to pass legislation related to college price transparency and accreditation reform. But first, Congress needs to avert a government shutdown before funding runs out Jan. 30, and they have a long list of other priorities, potentially leaving little time for higher ed–related bills. It’s also a midterm year, which promises to shake up the balance of power in Washington.
Money Matters: The Trump administration awarded $169 million in grants to advance its priorities from accreditation reform to civil discourse. Just over 70 colleges, universities and other organizations received money from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. I compiled all the winners and information about the projects into a searchable database for you here.
On Tap for Next Week:
- On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments about whether states can ban trans athletes from competing on teams that match their gender identity.
- The Senate will likely vote on a package of bills to fund several agencies, including the National Science Foundation. The House signed off on the so-called minibus this week, which largely rejects Trump’s proposed cuts to NSF, NASA and the Energy Department.
That’s it for Week 51. We’re approaching the end of Trump’s first year in office. How has the last year changed things for you, if at all? What do you want to know about what’s ahead? Email me at katherine.knott@insidehighered.com.
As always, if news breaks this afternoon or over the weekend, you can find the latest at InsideHigherEd.com. In the meantime, I’ll be catching up on The Pitt and trying to not rewatch Heated Rivalry.
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