The U.S. Department of Education laid out a sweeping regulatory agenda aimed at implementing the Trump administration’s higher-education priorities, with major changes planned for accreditation and civil-rights enforcement. The agency said it expects to advance a proposed accreditation rule this month that would make it easier for new accrediting bodies to form and for colleges to change accreditors. Under the planned accreditation framework, the Education Department also intends to expand accreditor responsibilities to include oversight of campus policies tied to free speech and intellectual diversity. In parallel, the department is planning additional rule changes this month to streamline how the government cuts off federal financial aid for institutions it determines violated civil-rights laws and refused voluntary compliance. The agenda follows earlier rulemaking tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including new federal loan limits and an earnings test that programs must meet to retain eligibility for federal student loans. It also signals additional steps that would affect institutional structure, including regulatory work to make it easier for colleges to merge, close, or change participation pathways. The department’s stated rationale is partly market-competition oriented, characterizing current regulatory provisions as giving public and nonprofit institutions a competitive advantage. Institutions and accreditors are now preparing for a compressed timetable that includes negotiated rulemaking and potential fallback drafting if stakeholder consensus is not reached.