What: On April 20, 2026, the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) posted a proposed rule entitled “Accountability in Higher Education and Access Through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability.”
Why: The Department is applying a statutory “accountability framework” required by the One Big Beautiful Bill. This framework will require degree programs at institutions of higher education to show their programs “Do No Harm” and provide students with increased earnings compared to the median earnings of high school graduates who did not pursue degrees at institutions of higher education. If an institution fails to show a marked increase in median earnings of graduates for two out of three years, the institution will lose access to federal Pell Grants.
The OCC conducted a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis, which determined that 218 small entities will be impacted by the final rule. Although the final rule will affect a substantial number of small entities, the agency states it will not have a significant economic impact on those small entities in any given year. The OCC estimates the yearly savings from not calculating the statistics required to be up to $6,798 per institution.
Action: Review the proposed rule and submit comments before the May 20, 2026, deadline.
If you are a small entity that is impacted by this proposed rule, please reach out to the Office of Advocacy.
FINAL RULE:
CONTACT:
David Mullis
EMAIL:
TOPIC(S):
Is your small business or entity being impacted by a proposed rule? If yes, write a comment letter to the proposing agency.