The Education Department and higher-education stakeholders agreed on proposed rules this week to implement Workforce Pell Grants, a policy expanding Pell eligibility to short-term career programs with a projected July rollout. The change—part of the recent budget-reconciliation law—opens federal aid to programs at community and technical colleges that run between eight and 15 weeks or meet a 600 clock-hour threshold, but it leaves many operational details to institutions and accreditors. Education officials and advocates warned colleges have limited time to build the data-tracking, staffing and compliance systems required to prove program completion and employment outcomes. Institutions that move quickly may capture new enrollments and revenue streams; those that cannot scale systems risk either missing out on funds or failing audits that could trigger clawbacks or sanctions.