A nearly-final federal student loan rule could prevent students from getting access to federal loans in certain college programs.
Under the rule, undergraduate programs lose Federal Direct Loan access if they fail an "earnings test" — meaning their graduates, four years after graduation, make less than those with just a high school diploma in the same state on average.
For master's degrees and other graduate-level programs to pass this test, their graduates would need to make more than a typical person with just an undergraduate degree in the state.
Preliminary federal data flagged 16 programs in Michigan that may be failing the test. Over 1,400 programs were marked as passing, but thousands more were not yet given a score.
“Functionally, they're trying to make sure that the degree that you're paying for and they're using student loans and federal and state aid to pay for it is actually valuable to you in the long run,” said Ryan Fewins-Bliss, the executive director of Michigan College Access Network.
“Making it so that students in the arts and humanities are possibly not able to be eligible for loans, really is setting up a larger class divide... it makes it so that those people who want to study the arts and humanities have to come from means.”Michael Barnes, Chair of Wayne State University's Department of Theatre and Dance
Fewins-Bliss said he is worried that these kinds of federal loan changes are sending the message to students that college is often not worth it.
"Every bit of data, every bit of research says that college will pay off,” he said. “College is the best way to get into the middle class, the best way to build wealth and assets, to protect yourself, your family, and build your community."
Before finalizing the rule, federal officials will review feedback from a public comment period that ended May 20.
As the rule is currently written, programs would lose student loan access if they fail the earnings test for two consecutive years during a three year review period set to begin July 1.
What Michigan programs could be impacted?
A federal dataset released as part of the public comment period contains average outcomes for post-secondary programs across the country.
Many flagged programs are in arts, counseling and social sciences.
The three undergraduate programs that were flagged in Michigan are:
- A bachelor’s in drama/theatre arts and stagecraft at Wayne State University
- A bachelor’s in general social sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn
- A bachelor’s in rhetoric and composition/writing studies at Calvin University
Community colleges programs that would fail include:
- An associate’s degree in graphic communications at Kalamazoo Valley Community College
- An associate’s degree in fine and studio arts at Delta College
- An associate’s degree in human development, family studies and related services at Delta College
- An associate’s degree in health and medical administration at Delta College
- An associate’s degree in design and applied arts at Henry Ford College
Master’s programs nationwide, especially in the arts, are under threat from this rule. A New York Times analysis found that nearly half of visual arts, music and performance programs would likely not pass the earnings test.
These Michigan master’s and graduate certificate programs were flagged in the government's preliminary data:
- A master’s in fine and studio arts from Cranbrook Academy of Art
- A master’s in historic preservation and conservation from Eastern Michigan University
- Master’s programs in dietetics and clinical nutrition services from Eastern Michigan University and Andrews University
- Master's programs in music from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and Western Michigan University
- A master’s in clinical counseling and applied psychology from Michigan School of Psychology
- A graduate certificate in human resources management and services from Davenport University
Fewins-Bliss said losing federal loan access could be disastrous for many programs.
“Eventually, if the federal government rules that a program can't take student loan dollars, it will functionally shut down,” Fewins-Bliss said. “We just don't have the infrastructure, the financial wherewithal to hold those programs up. So those institutions are going to be doing everything they can to make sure those degrees are valuable.”
Michael Barnes chairs Wayne State University's Department of Theatre and Dance — home to one of the programs the data suggest might not pass the earnings test.
Barnes said many students in the undergraduate theater program have a successful career in the arts after graduation.
“Do we want to see them perform?” Barnes said. “Absolutely. But we recognize that the skills that they get in theater and dance, in collaborative skills, in imaginative skills and creative solving of problems, those are things that go into any degree. Whether I have a student that ends up going to law school or on Broadway, we still offered them something.”
Barnes also thinks the value of an arts education goes beyond earnings, and that students don't go into these programs for the money.
“Judging students’ success solely by monetary income I think is such a horrible way to look at things,” Barnes said. “It could be that they go out into the world and they connect with their community and build their community up versus making $500,000 a year."
He also is worried a “class divide” could be created by restricting federal loan access for arts programs.
“It makes it so that those people who want to study the arts and humanities have to come from means,” Barnes said. “If we are only having people who come from the upper middle class or higher studying the arts, then we're not really going to create great artists.”
Michigan education leaders weigh loan changes
Leaders from the coordinating boards of Michigan’s public and private non-profit colleges and universities say they are not worried about the majority of programs, but have concerns about the broader implications of the policy.
Colby Cesaro, Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities vice-president, said master’s degrees in teaching could fail the earnings test in states where teachers are paid less than in Michigan. However, she said Michigan colleges and universities should stay on "high alert" in case teacher pay drops.
“Lots of teachers need to have a master's degree now,” Cesaro said. “But, if you're teaching kindergarten in a low-income school district you're not in it because you're making lots of money … That's another area where the alignment we have in our minds of ‘the more education you have, the more money you make,’ doesn't always work exactly that way.”
Mia Murphy is chief policy officer at the Michigan Association of State Universities. Murphy said tying student loans to the market raises broader questions, especially when programs across the country in low-paying fields like teaching and social work are under threat.
“What do we do with a market failure?" she said. "What do we do when some areas are associated with low salaries, but they're also vital for daily life?”
