New Federal STATS Reporting Begins October 1: College Programs Face an Earnings Test From the 2027–28 Award Year
Under a new US Department of Education framework, colleges must from October 1, 2026 submit program- and student-level data to the new Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) under the Earnings Accountability rule. The first submission round starts the reporting process only — no program loses federal loan eligibility immediately. The department's first earnings calculation is expected in early 2027, applying to the 2027–2028 award year.
Institutions must report program names, CIP codes, credential levels, program length, total cost of attendance, private education loans, and completion and withdrawal data. The accountability benchmarks differ by level: an undergraduate program's graduates must post median earnings above those of working adults aged 25–34 with only a high school diploma, while graduate programs are compared with bachelor's-only adults in the same age band. Earnings are measured four years after completion.
For families choosing colleges, the rule adds a hard metric to the decision: programs that fail the federal earnings test in future years could lose access to federal student loans, and their value proposition will be repriced accordingly. Admissions advisers say applicants should weigh graduate earnings data alongside rankings and tuition.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 大学毕业典礼（资料图）。Photo: Adam Jones, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
