The U.S. Department of Education has published a new proposed accountability metric for public comment under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act framework, aiming to test whether individual degree programs deliver value to students. Under the proposal, programs at more than 4,000 colleges and universities would have to demonstrate graduate earnings outcomes tied to working adults with a high school degree for undergraduate programs, and compare graduate outcomes to bachelor’s degree holders for graduate programs. Programs that fail the metric for two out of three consecutive years would lose access to federal student loans, with potential downstream consequences for Pell Grant access in certain circumstances. The metric is slated to take effect July 1, but it must complete a 30-day public comment period, followed by Department responses to submissions before becoming final. Officials characterized the approach as a “once-in-a-generation” effort to reduce unsustainable loan outcomes while aligning programs with workforce needs. The metric follows two earlier ED regulatory sets—new graduate loan caps and expanded Pell support for short-term job training programs—while the committee that helped shape the framework drew significant pushback and required multiple revisions to reach unanimous approval.