ICMYI: All AACC-member colleges excluded from IPEDS ACTS Survey
Before the holidays, the Education Department (ED) announced that White House Office of Management and Budget approved the final 2026-27 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) elements, including the Admissions and Consumer Transparency Supplement (ACTS). The new ACTS survey will require eligible institutions to report a significant tranche of new student-level data on admissions and financial aid awarding.
Based on feedback from AACC and member colleges in October, ED had exempted most two-year colleges from reporting for the ACTS survey in the most recent version open to comments. However, a significant question remained on whether the approximately 190 community colleges that award a limited set of bachelor’s degrees would be considered eligible based on the definitions used in the proposed 2026-27 IPEDS Glossary.
In comments filed in December, AACC and member colleges urged ED to change the sector classification system used for conferring ACTS eligibility from “highest degree awarded” to “predominant degree awarded.”
AACC is pleased to share that ED incorporated this feedback in the final 2026-27 IPEDS. Reporting for the ACTS survey will be limited to institutions that “primarily” award bachelor’s degrees or higher, exempting all AACC-member institutions. This is a tremendous relief for all community colleges across the country who will not be subjected to these costly and burdensome requirements. AACC thanks all member colleges that submitted comments in both October and December for their advocacy on this issue.
Negotiated-rulemaking table meets on new accountability scheme, GE/FVT
This week, ED convened the second negotiated-rulemaking table for the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee. The panel is the second of two tables convened to implement the higher education components of H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The group met and reached consensus on new regulations on Workforce Pell in early January; It now turns its attention to the new accountability system that measures the earnings of program completers against a comparison group of high school graduates and gainful employment/financial value transparency regulations.
The table has the same makeup as the December meeting. Tonjua Williams, president of St. Petersburg College, Florida, is serving as a negotiator for public institutions of higher education. Randy Stamper, associate vice chancellor for career education and workforce programs for the Virginia Community College System, is the primary negotiator for the state higher education officers’ seat.
ED has proposed language to “harmonize” the new accountability system applied to all degree programs with the existing gainful employment (GE) regulations, currently applied to certificate programs and programs offered by proprietary institutions. In the issue papers, the department proposed eliminating the existing debt-to-earnings (D/E) standard currently applied to GE programs and subjecting all degree and certificate programs at all institutions only to OBBBA’s earnings test. Negotiators have debated the merits of eliminating D/E for both accountability and transparency measures throughout the week.
To further harmonize the old and new accountability models, ED has proposed that if a program fails the earnings test, the institution can’t offer loans for the impacted program. Programs currently subject to GE lose all Title IV eligibility if they fail the current D/E or earnings premium measures. Negotiators have also debated this proposal, though the department seems committed to this approach.
At the time of this writing, negotiators were considering ED’s draft language and have not yet reached consensus or undergone any temperature checks. AACC will share a detailed analysis of this negotiated-rulemaking session after it concludes on December 9.