The Department of Education issued gainful employment final rules on Sept. 27 that require programs offered by private for-profit institutions and certificate programs at all institutions to meet earnings premium (EP) and debt-to-earning (D/E) metrics or risk their eligibility as a federal student aid participant if a program fails the same metric in two of three consecutive years.
In an expansion of prior guidance, the regulations also establish that all colleges and universities will be assessed going forward as part of a new Financial Value Transparency (FVT) framework that will use EP and D/E measures to gauge how much graduates earn and the amount of student debt they incur. A future federal website will be established to highlight information on typical earnings outcomes, borrowing amounts, cost of attendance, applicable occupational and licensing requirements, and sources of financial aid to foster transparency and help students make more informed choices.
Medical school programs will fall into a category that will be assessed on the D/E metric six years post-graduation. Programs that fail the established metrics would be required to collect acknowledgments from prospective students. No federal student aid penalties or sanctions are associated with the regulations.
The gainful employment regulations and transparency provisions will take effect July 1, 2024, with the information-sharing website and first acknowledgment requirements to follow by 2026.
The AAMC submitted comments to the Department of Education in June that raised concerns about the proposed changes related to gainful employment and the D/E rate, FVT reporting requirements, and administrative capability as it relates to the medical education experience.