The Trump Administration’s crackdown on college majors continues.
In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Education issued a press release about President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act, which is designed to address low-earning outcomes. At the time, the proposed act aimed to hold institutions and programs accountable as federal student loans reach nearly $1.7 trillion.
It suggests undergraduate graduates must earn at least as much as high school graduates to qualify their programs for federal student loans. This also applies to graduate programs, but with the expectation that they earn more than those with a bachelor’s degree.
“Programs that routinely fail to provide students with a reliable return on investment would lose access to federal student loans, and in certain cases, Pell Grants,” the release read.
Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in the press release the framework is rooted in “common sense,” and does not believe taxpayers should be responsible “if postsecondary education programs do not leave graduates better off.”
“This consensus-backed framework will drive meaningful change in postsecondary education, ending years of regulatory whiplash and addressing student debt that has left too many students worse off,” Kent said in the April release.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the Education Department finalized the rule in September 2026 that will no longer allow students pursuing advanced degrees or certificates to take out federal student loans for programs in fields that consistently pay low wages. Universities will be required to show that bachelor’s, associate degree, and undergraduate certificate programs have a higher median income than people with a high school diploma.
“It’s kind of a baseline expectation for students that no matter what type of program they pursue that they should be better off because of the investment that they’ve made,” Vice President of Policy at The Institute for Higher Education Policy Diane Cheng said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times also shares the rule would likely impact the following:
- social workers
- artists
- teacher aides
- barbers
- nail technicians
In addition, music, drama, cosmetology, massage therapy, and fine arts programs are projected to have higher failure rates because they reportedly “earn too little.” This also applies to mental and social health master’s programs, while mental and social health undergraduate programs are expected to have lower failure rates, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Ted Mitchell, president of the American Council on Education, said “accountability is well overdue in higher education,” while acknowledging that students in programs that won’t meet federal loan requirements should have new routes.