{
  "id": 10755774,
  "title": "Trump Administration Addresses Plan to Cut Student Loans for Some Degrees",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/29/trump-administration-addresses-plan-to-cut-student-loans-for-some",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-29T18:44:27.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/trump-administration-addresses-plan-to-cut-student-loans-for-some-degrees-12500719"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Department of Education has dismissed claims that the Trump administration plans to ban students from pursuing certain college degrees, stating that a new rule will instead \"hold colleges accountable for leaving students worse off than if they never enrolled.\" The department rejected The New Republic's July report, which suggested that students pursuing lower-paying degrees might lose access to federal loans. According to the department, it is not \"banning\" any programs; rather, it aims to prevent colleges from leaving students with high debts that do not lead to better employment prospects. The dispute stems from a Los Angeles Times report detailing how the new rule, implemented in July, would compare undergraduate program graduates' median earnings four years post-completion with those of similar-aged working adults with only a high school diploma. Graduate programs would be compared with workers holding bachelor's degrees. The New Republic reported that approximately 3% of bachelor's and advanced degree programs at public and nonprofit institutions could be affected, while roughly one-third of programs at for-profit colleges might fail the test. An estimated 5.2% of programs could fail, impacting programs attended by 4.2% of federal loan or grant recipients. Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent emphasized that the administration is implementing \"commonsense reforms\" to reduce higher education costs and hold institutions accountable for low earnings outcomes. If a program cannot demonstrate that graduates are financially better off than if they had never enrolled, it should not be funded by federal taxpayers.",
  "summary": "\"Federal student loans are not a welfare program for failing college programs,\" the Education Department said on social media.",
  "key_points": [
    "Department of Education denies Trump administration's plan to ban student loans for certain degrees.",
    "New rule holds colleges accountable for students' financial outcomes, not banning programs.",
    "Approximately 5.2% of programs could fail, impacting 4.2% of federal loan recipients."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}