USM aid director expects most programs to pass federal earnings test

Elizabeth Sarazin, USM's director of financial aid, told the USM Free Press that the office had followed recent legislation closely and, after reviewing early data, was confident "the majority of our academic programs will pass the earnings test that the federal government has introduced." She said the median income of USM graduates is typically higher than the benchmark in the new legislation and that federal Pell Grants are not at risk at USM. Federal guidance is still coming, she said, and the office is reviewing it carefully.

The comments came in a USM Free Press article about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the GOP tax and spending law whose "do no harm" provision requires programs to show that graduates earn more than high school graduates. CBS News reported the provision takes effect in July and could affect about 40,000 U.S. college students, according to an analysis by the HEA Group. The Education Department's separate Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS) and Earnings Accountability rule, proposed in April 2026 and finalized in June 2026, is a different policy, Snopes reported.

The test measures graduates' earnings four years after completion and compares them with the pay of a typical high school graduate. Programs that fail in two of three consecutive years could be barred from using federal student loans, CBS News reported. About 2% of U.S. associate and bachelor's degree-granting programs are at risk under the provision, the HEA Group analysis found. Most programs are expected to pass, particularly in STEM fields and at elite universities, CBS News reported. The HEA Group analysis found that English graduates from Kent State University earn about $36,241 per year four years after graduation, about $1,433 more than a high school graduate.

Where the risk lies

The Free Press article listed social work, the arts, religious studies, music and cosmetology among programs classified as low-earning. College arts, religion and trade programs such as cosmetology are the most likely to be cut off from federal student loans, according to the HEA Group analysis cited by CBS News. About 8% of studio and fine arts programs at four-year colleges are at risk of failing the test, the largest share of any bachelor's degree major, according to a Jan. 15 analysis from the American Enterprise Institute. About 3% of design and applied arts programs and 1% of English programs also could fail, the analysis found.

The Free Press article did not identify which USM programs might fall into those categories, and Sarazin's statement did not include program-level earnings figures. USM's Student Financial Services said it had no additional information beyond Sarazin's statement.

What comes next

Sarazin said the office is reviewing federal guidance as it arrives so that USM can communicate with students if any program is affected. The statement covered the majority of programs, not all, and did not name any USM program that might be affected.