The U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated-rulemaking panel reached consensus on regulations to implement the new Workforce Pell Grant program, establishing which short-term, workforce-oriented programs will qualify and how quality and accountability will be enforced. The agreement sets program length (roughly eight to 15 weeks), minimum instructional hours, state and governor approvals, and performance benchmarks for completion, job placement and earnings. Board leaders and institutional compliance officers should take note: the rules make institutional eligibility contingent on Title IV participation and require explicit workforce alignment and state sign-off for program approval. A Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) will follow, with a public comment period before final regulations are issued. The negotiated consensus creates immediate governance work for trustees and presidents—boards will need to weigh program development, quality controls, state workforce approval processes, and new data and accountability obligations into strategic planning and budgets. Institutions that move quickly to design short-term credentials aligned to state priorities may capture early Workforce Pell flows; laggards face heightened regulatory and financial risk.