The U.S. Department of Education finalized major higher education policy initiatives through the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) regulatory package and the Workforce Pell program. The AIM updates emphasize measurable student-outcome indicators, workforce alignment, institutional transparency, and stronger accreditor oversight tied to risk assessment. The regulations maintain a focus on completion and employment outcomes and direct accrediting agencies to increase monitoring for institutions showing financial instability or student-outcome concerns. The framework also includes provisions related to academic freedom and intellectual diversity, clarifying that institutions control how related policies are implemented. A key downstream change for institutions is the expanded expectation that accrediting agencies will review scholarly integrity and misconduct disclosures with greater transparency, alongside new channels for stakeholders—including students, faculty, and staff—to communicate concerns to accreditor bodies. Campus compliance teams and institutional effectiveness offices will need to align internal outcome metrics, financial responsibility processes, and evidence artifacts for accreditor review under the new accountability model.