A social work degree can lead to work a community desperately needs. Under a new federal rule, the pay that follows could determine whether future students can get federal loans to pursue it.
The Trump administration’s earnings accountability rule ties a college program’s access to Direct Loans to what its former students earn. Undergraduate programs must show that graduates make more than a typical high school diploma holder. Graduate programs must clear a higher bar, measured against bachelor’s degree holders. The federal government will use earnings data from four years after students complete their programs.
Weird how the government has money for bombs and military aid to Israel but not students trying to provide a life for themselves and families after paying hundreds of thousands for an education.
Fail the test in two of three consecutive years, and a program loses Direct Loan eligibility. The earliest losses could arrive in the 2028-29 academic year. For students who depend on federal borrowing, that could put certain degrees and certificates out of reach even if a school keeps offering them.
The pressure may fall hardest on fields where pay has long trailed the value people place on the work: social work, religious studies, art, music, teaching support and some beauty industry certifications. A low earnings figure can reflect a costly program. It can also reflect wages set by employers and budgets far beyond a college’s control.
Supporters say taxpayers should have a clear standard before financing programs whose graduates earn little. Critics warn that the rule could shrink access to needed professions while leaving tuition prices and low wages untouched. Schools may have to lower costs, improve career outcomes or reconsider programs that struggle to meet the benchmark.
The rule arrives amid a wider administration push to reshape education funding. That push has included canceled teacher training grants that officials said promoted “divisive ideology,” along with restrictions aimed at diversity initiatives. Courts have blocked some of those actions. The earnings rule raises its own immediate question for students: who gets to study for a career when the government decides the paycheck is too small?
