Federal Rule Requires College Programs to Show Graduates Earn Above $36,000

A federal law signed last year now requires every U.S. college, community college, and short-term certificate program to show that its graduates earn at least the median wage of a worker who holds only a high-school diploma in that state. In California the threshold is $36,000 a year.

The U.S. Department of Education analyzed tax records for graduates of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 school years and found that roughly 300 of the nearly 3,000 California programs fell below the line.

Most of the programs that did not meet the earnings standard are at for-profit institutions and focus on cosmetology, medical assisting, or the arts. Institutions have at least two years to improve outcomes. If they do not, their students will lose eligibility for federal loans on July 1, 2028.

CalMatters contacted more than 15 affected schools.

Spokespeople for the UC and Cal State systems said they are reviewing the rule but declined to answer most questions. The California Institute of the Arts, whose fine-arts, film, and photography graduates earn just under $30,000 four years after graduation, said it will not close any programs.

Ranu Mukherjee, dean of the school of film and video at CalArts, said artistic careers often take longer to establish and that many graduates deliberately forgo higher-paying corporate work.

Earlier federal attempts to tie aid to student outcomes were reversed by successive administrations before taking effect. Michael Itzkowitz, president of the HEA Group, said the statute carries more weight because it was passed by Congress rather than issued as a regulation.