The U.S. Department of Education released a list this week of federal education assistance funds that for-profit colleges will have to track and limit to retain their access to federal financial aid.
Since the 1990s, federal law has barred for-profit colleges from receiving more than 90% of their revenue from Title IV financial aid funds, which include Pell Grants and federal loans.
This requirement, called the 90/10 rule, was meant to be a proxy for measuring educational value at proprietary institutions. If colleges offer a good return on investment, the thinking goes, then students will be OK with at least partly footing the bill for their own education.
Congress changed the law governing the 90/10 rule in 2021 to include all federal education funds, including military education benefits from the GI Bill that hadn't previously counted toward the 90% limit. This change was intended to close a loophole that allowed for-profits to heavily recruit veterans and military-affiliated students to meet the 90/10 requirement.
The changes will apply to colleges’ fiscal years starting on or after January 2023. The Education Department recently listed other federal education funds that for-profit colleges must count toward the 90% limit. If the funds go above that share, colleges risk losing access to federal financial aid.
Below, we included the Education Department’s list of federal education funds — aside from Title IV funding — that will count toward the 90% side of the equation.
Department of Agriculture
• National Institute of Food and Agriculture: Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Predoctoral Fellowships
Department of Commerce
• Hollings Scholarship Program
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions, Cooperative Science Centers Direct Student Support
• NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions, Graduate Fellowship Program
• NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions, Undergraduate Scholarship Program
Department of Defense
• Advanced Civil Schooling
• Army/Navy/Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program
• Civilian Career Program/Civilian Tuition Assistance
• Credentialing Assistance
• Military Spouse Career Advancement Account
• Military Tuition Assistance
• Navy Advanced Education Voucher Program
• Navy Graduate Education Voucher
• Navy Seaman to Admiral
• Reserve Officers' Training Corps Scholarships
Department of Education
• Leadership Consortia in Sensory Disabilities and Disabilities Associated with Intensive Service Needs
• Perkins V, including the Native American Career and Technical Education Program and the Native Hawaiian Career and Technical Education Program
• Personnel Preparation in Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services for Personnel Serving Children with Disabilities
• Preparation of Special Education, Early Intervention, and Related Services Leadership Personnel
• Statewide Models for Ensuring That Special Education Students in Inclusive Schools are Served by Highly Qualified Teachers
• Workforce Investment Opportunity Act Title II, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act
Department of Health and Human Services
• Addiction Medicine Fellowship Program
• Advanced Nursing Education; Nurse Practitioner Residency Integration Program
• Advanced Nursing Education; Nurse Practitioner Residency Program
• Advanced Nursing Education Workforce
• Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Paraprofessionals
• Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program for Professionals
• Chafee Education and Training Vouchers
• Children’s Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program
• Dental Faculty Loan Repayment Program
• Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program
• Graduate Psychology Education Program
• Health Careers Opportunity Program
• Indian Health Professions Section 103 Scholarships
• IHS Section 104 Scholarships
• Indian Health Service
• Indians Into Medicine
• Integrated Substance Use Disorder Training Program
• Medical Student Education
• Native Hawaiian Health Scholarship Program
• National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program
• Non-National Research Service Award Predoctoral Fellowships
• Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship
• Nurse Corps Scholarship Program
• Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention; Registered Nurses in Primary Care
• Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention; Veteran Nurses in Primary Care Training Program
• Nursing Workforce Diversity
• Nursing Workforce Diversity; Eldercare Enhancement
• Oral Health Training: Predoctoral Training in General, Pediatric and Public Health Dentistry
• Primary Care Training and Enhancement; Physician Assistant Rural Training Program
• Public Health Training Centers
• Non-National Research Service Award Training Grants
• Opioid-Impacted Family Support Program
• Preventative Medicine Residency Program
• Public Health Scholarship Program
• Scholarships for Disadvantaged Students
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants
• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Predoctoral Fellowships
• Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
Department of Labor
• H-1B Skills Training Grants
• Reentry Employment Opportunities
• Strengthening Community Colleges
• Trade Adjustment Assistance
• WIOA Title I, Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth
• YouthBuild
Department of Transportation
• Federal Highway Administration: Dwight David Eisenhower Transportation Fellowship Program
• Maritime Administration: Direct Payments State Maritime Academies
• Maritime Administration: Student Incentive Program
• Maritime Administration: United States Merchant Marine Academy
Department of Veterans Affairs
• All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance, also known as Montgomery GI Bill: Active Duty
• Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship
• Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve: Reserve Educational Assistance Program
• National Call to Service Program
• Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance, also known as Post-9/11 GI Bill
• Post-Vietnam Era Veterans’ Educational Assistance Program
• Survivors and Dependents Educational Assistance
• Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses
• Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program
• Veteran Readiness and Employment, formerly Vocational Rehabilitation
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• University Nuclear Leadership Program
