The U.S. Department of Education began rolling out a new federal accountability test this month that will assess whether college programs leave graduates financially better off than those who never attended college. Under the measure, undergraduate programs whose graduates earn less than high school graduates, and graduate programs whose graduates earn less than those with only bachelor’s degrees, could lose access to federal student loans.
The test, known as “do no harm,” emerged from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which aimed to address concerns about rising college costs and program value. Education Department officials have set an expectation that programs will need to demonstrate minimum annual earnings of approximately $30,000 to $41,000 depending on the state. Programs failing to meet earnings requirements for two consecutive years out of three will be designated as low-earning outcome programs. The department estimates the vast majority of undergraduate and graduate programs will pass, but more than 800,000 students currently attend programs that would likely fail the measure.
The new standard has raised concerns among advocates for arts education, who argue that earnings represent only one dimension of college value. Some of the nation’s most prestigious music programs, including those at Juilliard School, New England Conservatory, and Indiana University Bloomington’s Jacobs School of Music, are predicted to fail the test. Critics note that creative professionals often experience nonlinear career trajectories with unpredictable early earnings that stabilize over time, and that measuring success through earnings alone ignores other career benefits such as independence, cultural impact, and personal fulfillment.
The Education Department will begin calculating the first year of graduate earnings in early 2027, with implementation phasing in over the coming years, meaning students considering at-risk programs will not immediately lose federal aid access. However, educators and students in music and arts fields express concern that the policy could prompt colleges to preemptively eliminate low-earning programs, potentially restricting access to careers that contribute significantly to cultural life and social infrastructure.
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