Big Beautiful Bill – Earnings Premium for Nonprofit and Public Universities
July 16, 2025
On July 4, President Donald Trump signed “The Act,” commonly referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as part of the budget reconciliation process and, among other changes, amended the Higher Education Act of 1965. While the law includes a number of elements impacting higher education (such as endowment taxes and loan limits), one key change was the creation of the “earnings premium” (EP) metric to assess the effectiveness of degree programs at all universities receiving Title IV funds.
On July 4, President Donald Trump signed “The Act,” commonly referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” as part of the budget reconciliation process and, among other changes, amended the Higher Education Act of 1965. While the law includes a number of elements impacting higher education (such as endowment taxes and loan limits), one key change was the creation of the “earnings premium” (EP) metric to assess the effectiveness of degree programs at all universities receiving Title IV funds. While certain nondegree programs at public and nonprofit universities may already be subject to earnings assessments that could impact eligibility as part of the existing gainful employment (GE) requirements, the EP potentially represents a seismic shift in graduate earnings accountability for all undergraduate degree and graduate programs.
