Witnesses urge keeping gainful-employment and financial-value transparency rules to protect students from poor-value programs

At the hearing, witnesses emphasized that program-level accountability — not just price transparency — is necessary to protect students and taxpayers from low-value credentials.

Amy Laitinen of New America told the committee that the gainful-employment rule and the Financial Value Transparency (FVT) rule act as regulatory backstops to protect students from risky certificate programs and unaffordable debt. “Gainful employment is the backstop… the Department of Education is reconsidering it during an upcoming negotiated rulemaking session,” she said, urging Congress to ensure the rule stays in effect or is codified in law.

Laitinen also said the department has completed two rounds of FVT data collection and should publish the results: “We could publish those now and have information that students could use today.” She argued FVT and related disclosures help students see which programs “pay off” before they enroll.

Members warned that weakening these rules would encourage more institutions to create certificate programs with poor outcomes. Laitinen and other witnesses recommended a mix of strengthened transparency, restored enforcement capacity and targeted investments (for instance to restore Pell purchasing power and fund outreach programs) to ensure students and taxpayers are protected.

Ending: Witnesses urged the department to publish FVT data, preserve or strengthen gainful-employment protections, and ensure the regulatory framework addresses certificate programs with concentrated poor outcomes.