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WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A new U.S. Department of Education (DOE) rule aimed at curbing “useless” degree programs that leave students high in debt but short on career prospects could have unintended consequences for religious education, several leaders of Christian colleges are warning.
Tucked within President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging One Big Beautiful Bill Act (BBB) last year was a so-called “do no harm” standard for federal student loan eligibility, which would require eligible degree programs to yield higher earnings for graduates than those without the degree. Last October, American University estimated that only about 1.8% of overall students were in programs likely to be negatively impacted by the change.
On April 20, DOE published regulations implementing the new rule by “replacing the former debt-to-earnings (‘D/E’) metric with a revised earnings premium measure, expanding transparency, and strengthening institutional compliance standards.” A “revised version of the earnings premium measure would apply to both GE [gainful employment] and non-GE programs; those failing the earnings premium measure in two of three consecutive years would lose Direct Loan eligibility, though limited extensions may be granted when an orderly program closure […] is in students’ best interest.”