Gainful employment

GE programs are, in the Department’s framework, non-degree programs (certificates) at all institution types, plus virtually all degree programs at proprietary (for-profit) schools. A traditional MBA at a public or private nonprofit university is usually a non-GE program. That MBA still faces Financial Value Transparency reporting; it does not face GE eligibility loss under this rule. A for-profit MBA does.

The Department identifies a program by six-digit CIP code plus credential level, not by the diploma’s marketing name. Two MBA tracks that share CIP 52.0201 and the master’s level are one program for GE math.

Metric	Pass rule	Failure for GE programs
Debt-to-earnings (D/E)	Median annual debt service ≤ 8% of annual earnings, or ≤ 20% of discretionary earnings	Fail in two of three years → lose Title IV
Earnings premium (EP)	Median earnings of Title IV completers ≥ median earnings of high-school completers ages 25–34 in the state’s labor force	Fail in two of three years → lose Title IV

The 2024 EP national threshold published by the Secretary was $31,269; state figures differ. Earnings are measured several years after completion, on Title IV-aided completers, not on the school’s self-reported MBA starting-salary mean.

Example: A proprietary MBA has median annual debt service of $9,600 and median earnings of $72,000. Annual D/E is 13.3 percent, which fails the 8 percent annual test. One fail year is a warning path. Two in three years is an eligibility loss.

Unaccredited programs are generally outside Title IV, so GE is not their problem; they never entered the aid system.

Same metrics, different teeth. FVT applies those metrics to nearly all Title IV programs, including nonprofit MBAs, for disclosure. FVT does not pull a nonprofit MBA’s Title IV eligibility. GE does pull eligibility for GE programs. Do not say “the MBA failed gainful employment” about a public university’s full-time MBA.

It has to report under FVT. It is not a GE program in the usual case, so it does not lose Title IV under the GE eligibility framework.

AACSB is programmatic accreditation. GE looks at Title IV program type and control. A for-profit AACSB MBA is still a GE program.

For graduate programs the 2023 rule still uses the high-school baseline for EP. That is a low bar for most MBAs on earnings; D/E is the tighter constraint when tuition is financed with large loans.

The Department’s FVT/GE disclosure process, not a media ranking. Methodology pages at U.S. News or the FT are not GE sources.