WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Education this past week rolled out a sweeping, multi-front agenda that pairs new funding for artificial intelligence and campus civil discourse with a hard-edged push to remake higher education accountability, accreditation, and workforce training as the Trump administration presses to reshape colleges around “student success” and job readiness.
On January 5, the department announced $169 million in new grant awards from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, backing projects to expand “responsible” AI use in teaching and learning, foster civil discourse on campuses, drive reforms in the accreditation system, and build capacity for short-term programs aligned with Workforce Pell Grants. The department also issued one supplemental award under the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success program.
Officials said the grants drew a “historic” number of applications following a November 10 competition announcement, which the department portrayed as evidence that colleges and universities are seeking funding to support innovation, campus civility, institutional accountability, and student outcomes.
“The Trump Administration is reenvisioning the future of higher education – ensuring that programs are centered on student success, workforce readiness, and are adaptive to new technology and innovations,” said Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education Dr. David Barker.
Examples cited by the department include a community college embedding AI tools and AI-supported instructional practices into high-impact programs such as nursing and information technology; a university building new courses and an undergraduate certification around free expression and civil discourse; support for emerging accreditors seeking federal recognition and for institutions looking to switch accreditors; and a Workforce Pell-aligned program aimed at technician training in advanced manufacturing, automation, and battery production.
The funding announcement landed as Education Secretary Linda McMahon crisscrossed the country promoting the department’s America 250 civics effort. On January 8, McMahon appeared in Newport News, Virginia, with Gov. Glenn Youngkin at An Achievable Dream Middle & High School for the “History Rocks! Trail to Independence” tour, which the department says is designed to strengthen civic literacy by helping students connect with America’s founding principles.
“It was a joy to visit Virginia today and celebrate America’s founding,” McMahon said, calling the approach a way to help students understand their rights and responsibilities as the nation approaches its 250th birthday. The department said more than 200 ninth- through 12th-grade students took part in interactive activities and competitions tied to Revolutionary War-era themes and civic engagement.
The following day, McMahon brought the same tour to Elmira High School in New York, joined by U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy and local school leaders, with students participating in games and challenges centered on founding-era history and civic themes.
The civics push is coordinated with the America 250 Civics Education Coalition, a partnership the department said includes the America First Policy Institute, Turning Point USA, Hillsdale College, and more than 50 national and state organizations. Information on the department’s America 250 efforts is posted at https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/america-250.
But the week’s most consequential higher-education move may be unfolding far from pep rallies and school auditoriums.
On January 9, the department announced it had reached consensus on the third and final regulatory package to implement changes tied to President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts Act, capping a negotiated rulemaking process focused on a new accountability framework for higher education.
Department officials and negotiators described the proposal as a “historic” attempt to hold all postsecondary institutions accountable for weak student outcomes, arguing that too many students end up financially worse off after attending college while taxpayers absorb the cost of defaults in a federal student loan portfolio nearing $1.7 trillion.
Under the consensus-based proposal, the act’s “Do Not Harm” standard would be aligned with existing Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment regulations and applied across all programs — from certificates to graduate degrees — using earnings thresholds. Institutions could lose access to the federal Direct Loan program if programs fail those thresholds in two out of three years. If failing programs account for at least half of an institution’s Title IV recipients or Title IV dollars, those programs would also lose Pell Grant eligibility.
As part of what the department called an effort to harmonize accountability rules, negotiators agreed to eliminate the Gainful Employment “debt-to-earnings” measure, describing it as duplicative and burdensome.
“After more than 15 years of regulatory uncertainty under the previous three Administrations, we’ve developed an accountability framework that institutions can work with, students will benefit from, and taxpayers can rightfully expect to improve outcomes,” said Under Secretary Nicholas Kent.
In a parallel action affecting tribal communities, McMahon also sent a Dear Tribal Leader letter on January 9 inviting tribal leaders to a consultation in Washington on February 10, 2026, regarding interagency agreements between the Departments of Education, Interior, and Labor aimed at integrating services for Native-serving programs. The department said consultation is intended to shape implementation and improve coordination, with the Office of Indian Education leading the session.
Taken together, the announcements depict an administration moving aggressively on multiple fronts — pouring money into AI and workforce programs, elevating civics as America250 approaches, and tightening the screws on colleges with a new accountability framework that could determine which programs survive in the federal student aid system.
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