The U.S. Department of Education announced the formation of the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) negotiated rulemaking committee to rewrite recognition and accountability rules for accreditors. The AIM agenda will examine accreditation’s role in credential inflation, conflicts of interest, transfer-of-credit policies, and data-driven student outcomes; negotiators will meet in April and May and nominations were due Feb. 27. Separately, the Department issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would reshape student loan limits, eliminate Grad PLUS, and create a tiered repayment structure for graduates and professionals. The NPRM requests comments and signals major compliance and financial-aid changes that institutions must evaluate and, if needed, contest during the public comment period.