A new federal law aims to regulate college programs that offer poor returns on investment.
The policy requires that colleges and universities nationwide prove their graduates earn at least the median wage of workers with only a high school diploma. Otherwise, students could eventually lose access to federal loans.
To comply with the new law, colleges in California have to prove their graduates are earning more than $36 thousand a year — that’s about $18 an hour.
Data from the U-S Department of Education found that roughly 90% of California graduates earn at least that much.
But graduates from about 300 California college programs aren’t meeting that threshold — especially those in cosmetology, medical assisting, and the arts.
California schools that aren’t currently meeting the standard have at least two more years to show results.
If they don’t, their students could lose access to loans as soon as July 1st, 2028.
CalMatters reached out to more than 15 universities, community colleges and for-profit trade schools to ask about the future of the programs with low-earning graduates, but few schools responded.