PEER Center Comments: AHEAD Regulations on Earnings-Based Accountability

A new provision under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will require nearly all higher education programs to demonstrate their graduates’ typical earnings, measured four years after completion, exceed the median earnings of someone with only a high school diploma (for undergraduate programs) or a bachelor’s degree (for graduate-level programs). Proposed regulations from the U.S. Department of Education, released in April 2026, would implement this policy and revise the existing gainful employment rules that applied to for-profit and non-degree programs, ensuring accountability for all programs.

In this comment, we provide feedback on several topics throughout the proposed regulations, including:

• Maintaining the application of the earnings premium standard to undergraduate certificate programs;

• Ensuring the sanctions for failing gainful employment programs include the loss of all Title IV eligibility, including Pell Grants;

• Preserving accountability for programs with modest earnings and unaffordable debts with a debt-to-earnings threshold;

• Protecting the integrity of federal earnings data in the appeals process;

• Preventing gaming by institutions with failing programs; and

• Maintaining strong disclosure and transparency provisions that will guarantee students receive full and accurate information on college options.