Colleges plead for yet another extension: Colleges and universities across the United States are calling on the Department of Education to extend the deadline for reporting requirements under President Biden’s Gainful Employment and Financial Value Transparency Rule. This is the third such request in a year, with organizations now asking to move the January 15, 2025 deadline to July 2025. If granted, critical data on financial aid and student outcomes would remain unknown until after Biden’s presidency, delaying implementation. Regulations designed to make career education programs accountable.
looming Trump administration and Department of Education
Adding to the uncertainty is the incoming Trump administration, which has signaled its intention to close the U.S. Department of Education. If this plan materializes, it will signal a significant shift in federal education policy.
For decades, the department has been central to overseeing education programs, ensuring the distribution of federal student aid, and implementing educational policies at the federal and state levels. While critics view the department as a bureaucracy, its supporters argue that dismantling it would create chaos in the management of billions in federal grants and loans that support millions of students.
Beneficial Employment Rules: Accountability or Just More Red Tape?
To be finalized in 2023, the gainful employment rule aims to protect students from programs that saddle them with unsustainable debt and poor career prospects. It requires career-focused programs at for-profit colleges and nondegree programs in all fields to ensure that graduates can pay off their debt and earn more than the average salary of adults in their state without a college degree. Programs that fail these metrics for two consecutive years may lose access to federal financial aid.
By 2026, students enrolling in non-compliant programs will be required to sign disclosures acknowledging the risks of higher debt and lower returns. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona described the rule as a way to empower families who have “more data than ever” about college costs, according to a September 2023 Inside Higher Ed (IHE) report.
Why do colleges want delays?
The organizations argue that they need more time to comply with the rule’s stringent data collection and reporting requirements. Many colleges do not systematically track key metrics such as total cost of attendance or private loan disbursements. Administrative hurdles, including the rollout of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), have further strained college staff.
of David Beim American Association of Community Colleges Delays in receiving implementation guides and faulty documentation from the Education Department were highlighted. “Colleges are doing their best to come into compliance with just hundreds of hours of work,” Beim told Times Higher Ed.
Additionally, Emmanuel Guillory of the American Council on Education (ACE) noted the practical implications of an incoming administration potentially undoing Biden’s policies. “It’s not about avoiding liability but about making sure institutions don’t act unnecessarily,” Guillory told IHE.
‘Not the first time’: a tale of repeated procrastination
Critics, however, see these extension requests as a familiar tactic to circumvent regulations. Rachel Fishman of the left-leaning think tank New America calls it “a story as old as time,” dismissing claims that colleges lack the resources to comply.
For the Biden administration, further delays could undermine confidence in its higher education agenda. Deputy Secretary James Quall expressed disappointment, telling IHE, “It’s disappointing that some special interests want more delays that will only keep students in the dark.”
If an extension is granted, the Department of Education could struggle to enforce the rule before the Trump administration potentially dismantles it. This can put students at risk for exploitative programs and hinder oversight of federal aid.
What is at stake for students and grants?
The gainful employment rule is intended to protect students by ensuring that federal financial aid supports programs that produce positive outcomes. Without timely implementation, students may continue to enroll in high-cost programs that provide little return on investment. Furthermore, delays undermine transparency, leaving families without important information to make informed decisions.
With colleges arguing for more time and the Biden administration standing firm, the clock is ticking. Whether this rule survives the next administration will determine not only the future of students and colleges, but also the future of federal oversight of higher education.