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** Overview
In our earlier email this morning CSPEN shared with the community the decision made by the Administration to cancel requested and scheduled E.O. 12866 Meetings which were intended to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on the pending publication of the pending STATS and Earnings Accountability Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). We noted that the cancellation of the meetings set the stage for potential publication as early as today, and well…it happened.

CSPEN will now try to monitor the final day of the first session of the AIM Committee’s negotiations, while also beginning to analyze and summarize the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Student Tuition and Transparency System and Earnings Accountability NPRM.

Those of you interested in reviewing the Federal Register announcement can do so here (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=d653735a31&e=05bce952ad) (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=26dddd1d82&e=05bce952ad)

You can also download the unpublished version now here (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=d985756a9a&e=05bce952ad) .

CSPEN will provide a review of the 394-page document as soon as we have time to go through all of the details.

Happy Reading!

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Unofficial Publication of Earning Accountability NPRM Posted appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

————————————————————

** Overview
While the higher education community and many other interested parties understandably focused on monitoring the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM) Committee’s review and deliberations regarding the Department’s proposed regulations to overhaul the accreditation system, several other key events also took place this week that we wanted to ensure the community was aware of.

Below CSPEN provides–
————————————————————
1. A summary of the first week of the accreditation negotiations heading into today’s final day of session one deliberations:
2. Highlights a new Senate bill focused on the 90/10 Rule;
3. Shares breaking news regarding a report developed by Diane Auer Jones entitled “Robbing from the Poor to Give to the Rich: The Flawed Logic and Failed Methodology Behind the Do No Harm Earnings Test” offering commentary on the metric’s design, data sources, anticipated outcomes, and alternative recommendations; and
4. Abrupt cancellation of scheduled and requested E.O. 12866 Meetings with the White House and Department to discuss the pending Earnings Accountability proposals prior to publication of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)

**
Session One – AIM Committee Federal Negotiated Rulemaking
On Monday morning, the Department of Education made it abundantly clear that it intends to deconstruct and reconstitute the accreditation system as detailed in the one-hundred-and-fifty-one-page discussion draft provided to the Non-Federal negotiators in advance of the first session. Under Secretary Nicholas Kent provided remarks making it clear that the Administration intends to take aim at specific concern regarding both the accreditation system itself to the standards and practices of the accrediting agencies as well. Taking the comments a step further, as the Department’s negotiator provided his opening remarks he stated that while he and the Department were interested in sharing ideas, the discussion draft was the Administration’s intended outcome. He added that with or without revisions and/or consensus, a Final Rule on accreditation will be promulgated before the end of the year.

As CSPEN noted during last week’s Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update webinar, the Department’s extensive list of proposals includes both benign and highly volatile items. Beginning Monday afternoon, the AIM Committee addressed all items by reviewing each page and discussing every proposal individually. Monday afternoon one of the lengthier discussions centered on the Administration’s frustration that more institutions had not voluntarily changed accreditors following the 2020 regulatory revisions that eliminated the regional accreditation system. The Department asserted that market forces were prohibiting institutions from changing, while for the most part institutions and others shared different perspectives. Throughout the entire week some of these differences of perspective have been on display. At other times the discussions have been more focused and heated, for example the discussion on transfer of credit and efforts by the Department to force the accreditors oversight in
this area were openly opposed. Similarly, negotiations have gotten more tense when issues like academic pedagogy, intellectual diversity, and outcomes.

Senator Jim Banks Introduces 90/10 Legislation
On Monday, Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana introduced new legislation entitled the “Promoting Access and Revenue Integrity Through Institutional Transparency Act.” The two-page bill proposes repealing Section 487(a)(24) of the law as well as subsection (d). The legislation does not have a bill number yet, but when it does, we will share those details with the community as well.

New Report Critical of “Do No Harm” Earnings Accountability Law and Proposed Regulations
Yesterday, former Principal Deputy Under Secretary Diane Auer Jones released a new report entitled “Robbing from the Poor to Give to the Rich: The Flawed Logic and Failed Methodology Behind the Do No Harm Earnings Test.” which is a MUST READ. The Abstract introducing the report states:

“This report critically examines the Do No Harm (DNH) earnings test, a highly flawed and scientifically unsound higher education accountability metric enacted by Congress as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Although Congress requires this metric to be applied to undergraduate degree programs, graduate degree programs and graduate certificate programs, the Department of Education (the Department) has proposed to use its regulatory authority to expand the test to include undergraduate certificate programs. The Department’s desire to hold all schools and programs to the same standards is commendable; however, the metric imposed upon them by Congress lacks validity and merit, rendering it an arbitrary and capricious regulatory test.

This report evaluates the DNH metric against accepted standards of experimental design, including those established by the Department 1 as the minimum required to demonstrate suitability for policy-making decisions, and finds that it fails in numerous and significant ways. The report demonstrates that the metric’s design systematically disadvantages low-income students and the institutions that serve them and in particular, has disparate impact at the certificate level on non-traditionally aged females and students of color. Importantly, the DNH metric ignores well understood employment trends, including that earnings grow significantly during the first 10 years of one’s career, that individuals from low-income families tend to take lower-paying jobs initially and experience slower wage growth than those from more advantaged families, and that women aged 24 to 35 are more likely than others to seek part-time rather than full-time work. Though this report points out the many reasons why
earnings tests are not a valid form of quality assessment or regulatory control, it includes recommendations that would at least align earnings-based accountability frameworks with accepted standards of scientific rigor and the access-oriented mission of Title IV programs.”

CSPEN has requested the authority to post the report on our website for community review. We will notify the higher education community on how to obtain the report very soon.

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Cancels Requested E.O. 12866 Meetings
On Wednesday, April 15th the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget abruptly concluded the process of enabling interested parties to share comments with Administration representatives. In making the determination, the Administration cancelled several requested and scheduled meetings. CSPEN anticipates that the Department of Education will likely move quickly to complete the final process of any modifications before submitting the final NPRM to the Federal Register for publication in the near future. CSPEN will be on the lookout for both the potential soft release of the NPRM by the Department as early as today and the official publication in the Federal Register which will establish the comment period and deadline.

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department of Education Shares Documents For Accreditation Neg Reg appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
CSPEN and the rest of the higher education community are having yet another busy week. On Monday, as we previously shared with the higher education community by CSPEN, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released a series of documents to the Non-Federal Negotiators who have been selected and accepted the opportunity to serve on the Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Committee including the list of negotiators, the proposed protocols, a 151 page document providing a redlined version of the initial draft proposals the Department is seeking to promulgate, and a nine page summary of the initial set of proposals. CSPEN stated that they would immediately begin our review of the initial draft regulations for discussion and provide more information on Thursday during our regularly scheduled CSPEN Federal Legislative & Regulatory Update webinar.

Late Monday afternoon CSPEN received intelligence from the Administration and Capitol Hill that the House Education & Workforce Committee was announcing the introduction of legislation seeking to reauthorize the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The legislation, entitled “A Stronger Workforce for America Act” is an updated version of WIOA reauthorization legislation which came very close to being finalized prior to the conclusion of the 118^th Congress. That gave all of the higher education community focused on workforce education a nice little 506 page bill to review.

And if that were not enough to keep us all on our toes, today is the final day for all interested parties to provide comments in response to the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-Driven Workforce Pell: Pell Grant Exclusion Relating to Other Grant Aid; and Workforce Pell Grants Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

Here are a couple of very brief updates for you on these three important topics.

Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization Negotiated Rulemaking
Next week is the first of two one-week sessions of deliberations seeking to build upon the Trump Administration’s efforts to realign the Secretary’s criteria for recognition of accreditors to promote high-quality, high value, and affordable education for students that—
• Promotes such academic programs and activities at higher education institutions that are focused on student outcomes and are free from unlawful discrimination and other violations of Federal law;
• Reduces barriers that limit competition, innovations, and new education models that advance credential and degree completion;
• Holds institutions accountable for discrimination and other unlawful acts; and
• Advances academic freedom, intellectual inquiry, and student learning by ensuring that accreditation requires that institutions support and prioritize intellectual diversity among faculty.

The discussion document proposes major changes to the entire accreditation regime which CSPEN will attempt to summarize on tomorrow’s webinar.

A Stronger Workforce for America Act
In the House Committee on Education & Workforce’s press release is states that Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) introduced the legislation to make critical updates to WIOA (legislation enacted in 2014). Chairman Walberg is quoted as stating,

“The workforce is evolving rapidly, and legislation designed over a decade ago is no longer meeting today’s demands. This bill modernizes a struggling and underutilized workforce development system, delivering reforms that strengthen participant outcomes and ensure greater accountability for taxpayer dollars. This is a win for employers, job seekers, and taxpayers alike.”

His statement and the release explain—

Specifically, A Stronger Workforce for America Act of 2026:
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* Removes silos. This bill moves adult education to the Department of Labor—making it easier to connect adult education to apprenticeships, sector partnerships, and employer-led training especially as artificial intelligence reshapes skill demands.
* Upgrades the skills of more Americans. This bill dedicates funding toward upskilling workers through “individual training accounts” (ITAs), on-the-job learning, and other employer-led and industry relevant initiatives. It also helps a currently employed workforce gain new skills to avoid displacement and advance their careers.
* Delivers greater accountability and program quality. This legislation strengthens the law’s accountability system—holding states and local workforce boards responsible for delivering positive outcomes for workers and job seekers.

**
Workforce Pell Grant NPRM
As of this morning 97 comments have been submitted and are available for review at regulations.gov (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=7944f7b85e&e=05bce952ad) . Institutions can review the comments here (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=12d3ca7c9f&e=05bce952ad) .

What’s Next
Tomorrow we will provide as much information on all three of these topics and more – including the current tracking of three E.O. 12866 Meetings that have been scheduled thus far, with more anticipated to be scheduled soon, including one for CSPEN. Register now for tomorrow’s effort to continue to provide you with timely, accurate and sourced information.

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department of Education Shares Documents For Accreditation Neg Reg appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
For the past three weeks institutions of higher education have been receiving new batches of BDR claims from the U.S. Department of Education for review and institutional comment prior to assessment and determinations by the Department.

CSPEN shared on last week’s webinar details that the Department has shared with us that the new BDR claims were from applications not part of the Sweet vs. McMahon settlement. As part of our update we noted that the anticipated announcement of more detailed information on the latest efforts to address the inventory of BDR claims.

Today’s electronic announcement provides this important information.

Please take the time to read and review the announcement which was just posted on the Department’s Knowledge Center website.

Here is a link directly to the announcement:

(GENERAL-26-22) School Notification Process Under the 1994 and 2016 Borrower Defense to Repayment Regulations (34 C.F.R. 685.206(c) and 34 C.F.R. 685.222) (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=76f4be2404&e=05bce952ad)

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department Publishes New BDR Update appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Overview
Just moments ago CSPEN learned that the U.S. Department of Education submitted (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=51ecc0d0e0&e=05bce952ad) the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Student Tuition and Transparency
System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability Notice of Proposed Rulemaking NPRM to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) for review prior to submission to the Federal Register for publication.

On tomorrow’s webinar CSPEN will pivot from the previously scheduled presentations to more details on this next to last step in the NPRM publication process. We will refresh the community’s memory on the Executive Order 12866 directive and the E.O. 12866 process details.

Background
OIRA is an office located within the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the Executive Office of the President. OMB supports the President in overseeing the implementation of policies across the Federal government.

Within OMB, OIRA manages the process of government-wide review of Federal regulatory actions. OIRA reviews a subset of regulatory actions, according to a series of Executive Orders, including Executive Order
12866 (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=1c3369098a&e=05bce952ad) , Executive Order 13563, and Executive Order 14094.

OIRA may review regulatory actions that are likely to have large impacts on the economy (e.g., annual effect on the economy of $200 million or more) or to ensure consistency in regulatory approaches across Federal agencies, among other circumstances. OIRA works collaboratively with Federal agencies through this review to ensure that regulatory actions are effective and durable.

When OIRA is reviewing a draft regulatory action, any member of the public can request a meeting with OIRA officials on that action. These meetings are sometimes called “12866 meetings,” named after the
Executive Order (centralstatesedu.us11.list-manage.com/track/click?u=75e01bde202d593ed21c1c91c&id=d5d7b1e09f&e=05bce952ad) that structures OIRA’s centralized regulatory review.

In many cases, OIRA will review a draft regulatory action twice: once as a proposal (typically called a “proposed rule”), and again when the agency is finalizing the action (typically called a “final rule”). Members of the public can request 12866 meetings with OIRA in both cases.

Note, however, that a 12866 meeting with OIRA is not a substitute for submitting written comments to the agency that is proposing the regulatory action. Members of the public should follow the instructions set forth in the agency’s rulemaking document to understand how, and by when, they should submit a comment.

In addition, not all regulatory actions are reviewed by OIRA; if a regulatory action is not reviewed by OIRA, then 12866 meetings with OIRA on that action will not be available.

The post CSPEN BREAKING NEWS: Department of Education Has Sent Earnings Accountability Proposal To White House appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

The first webinar scheduled for next Tuesday, March 10th will focus on the most up-to-date information on the current status of Federal student loan program. To provide this update CSPEN is once again proud to announce that Alex Ricci, President of the National Council of Higher Education Resources accepted our invitation to provide an overview of the current status of the loan program, what actions are likely to take place in the future impacting your institution and students, and actionable items your institution should be reviewing now to impact your future.

CSPEN will follow up this coming Tuesday’s presentation on the status of the student loan program with an update on the Department of Education and Department of Labor Partnerships and how the proof of concept and interagency agreement process is being successfully implemented on Tuesday, March 17^th. To provide this update CSPEN asked Acting Assistant Secretary Nick Moore with the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) to essentially repeat the highly informative presentation he shared with attendees at CSPEN’s 8^th Annual Higher Education Policy Meeting.

Additional webinars will follow with presentations on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and more.

The post CSPEN Kicks Off Our Spring Webinar Series With A Critical Look At The State of Student Loans appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Early Bird CSPEN Conference Registration Open

Call for Proposals Now Open

You are invited to share your wisdom and experience with your peers and our sector. We are asking for unique presentations of in depth knowledge and helpful information for the CSPEN conference.

Leaders, Educators, Experts, Innovators
It’s time to raise your voice and share what you know!

Session Guidelines:
* Please complete a form for each proposal and each conference for which you would like to be considered
* Proposal deadline is May 8, 2026
* Selections and notifications will be completed by June 12, 2026
* Sessions will last approximately one hour
* Special consideration is given to presentations that include representatives from an .edu, .org and/or .gov
* Presenters are not paid, but school personnel presenting will receive a 50% discount on registration for the conference
* Sessions may not be sales pitches. Presenters may provide a brief company overview in their introduction only. This should be limited to 5 minutes or less with an invitation to visit your booth for additional information.
* ***Vendors will need to co-present with a school or employer***
* Vendors, if chosen, are expected to have a booth in the exhibition hall at the standard vendor rate or register as a non-exhibiting vendor

Submit Your Proposal Today!
Austin Downtown Marriott Reservations
Information on Exhibiting & Sponsorships

The post CSPEN 2026 Call for Proposals Now Open! appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Congressman Adam Gray (D-Ca) will be closing out the CSPEN Higher Education Policy Meeting with a keynote on Thursday, February 12th at 11:30 am.

Congressman Adam Gray represents California’s 13th Congressional District, including Merced County and portions of Madera, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and Fresno Counties. He is a member of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committees and is the Whip of the Blue Dog Coalition.

Prior to serving in Congress, Adam spent 10 years representing Merced and Stanislaus Counties in the California State Assembly, where he worked to advance bipartisan commonsense policy solutions. In Sacramento, Adam founded the California Problem Solvers Caucus and worked alongside his colleagues to establish a medical school program at UC Merced, build new water storage infrastructure and improve water access for Central Valley farmers.

Adam lives in Merced, California, where he was born and raised, and is an educator at UC Merced.

cspen.us21.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9fa45d85dc7e4647608069698&id=f6f5902345&e=3aeadd9061
Register for the Policy Meeting Today – seating limited

The post Congressman Adam Gray joins CSPEN’s Higher Education Policy Meeting as Keynote appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.

Randy Fine was elected to represent Florida’s 6th Congressional District in April 2025 and serves on the House Foreign Affairs and the Education and Workforce Committee.

A third-generation Floridian, Randy built a career as a successful entrepreneur, founding and running businesses in retail, technology, and hospitality. At 40, he retired from the private sector to focus on raising his two sons, Jacob and David, with his wife, Wendy. He has been an active Boy Scout volunteer, serving as both Cubmaster and Assistant Scoutmaster.

Randy’s retirement didn’t last long. In 2016, he was elected to the Florida House, where he served the maximum eight years before moving on to the Florida Senate and then Congress. During his time in Tallahassee, he chaired five committees, passed more than forty bills, and became known as a strong advocate for school choice, tough immigration enforcement, and protecting children from harmful ideologies.

As the only Jewish Republican in the Florida Legislature, Randy led the fight to make Florida the safest state in America for Jewish families and people of faith. His colleagues and national Jewish organizations honored him with the nickname “The Hebrew Hammer” for his work opposing terrorism and combatting antisemitism.

The son of two public school teachers, Randy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in government and later earned his MBA from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with high distinction as one of the youngest Baker Scholars in decades.

The post Congressman Randy Fine to Speak at CSPEN’s Higher Education Policy Meeting appeared first on Career Schools Private Education Network.