New Items
It’s the End of FVT&GE as We Know It
On Ed Tech
Phil Hill
December 30, 2025
The Department of Education (ED) has released its discussion draft for a new federal accountability framework, revising the existing Financial Value Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE) regulations to align with statutory changes enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). While the underlying program-level data have not yet been released (expected later today), the rules text, especially the annotated version circulated ahead of negotiated rulemaking, makes ED’s priorities unusually clear. I’d like to share my initial observations.
This is not a technical tune-up. It is a deliberate simplification.
ED is proposing a single, statute-driven accountability framework for all postsecondary programs participating in the Title IV Direct Loan Program. Where prior rules layered multiple metrics, carve-outs, and special treatments, the new proposal strips those away in favor of uniform enforcement and straightforward implementation of congressional language. Furthermore, ED’s proposal rebrands the Financial Value Transparency regulations and related changes as a new Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS).
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Department of Education stopped $1 billion in student aid fraud, promises more crackdowns in 2026
Campus Reform
Jared Harris
December 27, 2025
The U.S. Department of Education announced it has stopped over $1 billion in attempted student aid fraud in 2025, crediting strengthened identity verification policies reinstated under the Trump administration.
The reforms, which include mandatory ID checks for select first-time FAFSA applicants, were introduced after a wave of fraud schemes exploited loosened rules under the Biden administration.
Federal investigators found nearly $90 million in aid had already been fraudulently disbursed, including over $30 million to deceased individuals and more than $40 million to bots posing as students.
The Department responded with a nationwide identity check in June, immediately flagging nearly 150,000 suspicious FAFSA submissions and notifying colleges of potential fraud.
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Blocked by CSU, community college bachelor’s degrees closer to approval following new analysis
Ed Source
Michael Burke
December 23, 2025
A state-commissioned report says location is important for starting new community college bachelor’s degrees, a win for those campuses.
A new analysis appears likely to bolster the attempts of some California community colleges to start offering bachelor’s degrees, despite protests from state universities that claim their own programs would be harmed.
For more than two years, proposed degrees from seven community colleges have been effectively blocked by California State University campuses, citing a state law that allows them to object to programs they believe duplicate their own degrees. The degrees would add to more than 50 others that are already offered at community colleges across the state.
While officials emphasize that no final decisions have been made to approve the blocked degrees, a recently issued state-commissioned report sides with the community colleges on a pivotal point. The report by the nonprofit organization WestEd suggests that the location of a community college is a relevant factor and that bachelor’s degrees should not necessarily be considered duplicative if the objecting CSU campus is not geographically close to the community college.
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