In two recent Inside Higher Ed articles, Thompson Coburn partner Aaron Lacey was quoted extensively on a new U.S. Department of Education policy proposal that has now reached negotiators’ consensus. The proposal would require undergraduate programs to demonstrate that their graduates, on average, earn more than a typical working adult with only a high school diploma.
Aaron, co-chair of the firm’s Higher Education practice, argued that evaluating graduate earnings just four years after completion does not accurately capture the long‑term return on investment of a college degree. Basing federal funding consequences on such a narrow measurement, he said, is unfair to institutions.
He also noted that Congress’s choice to exclude certificate programs from the legislation raises questions about whether the Department has the authority to include gainful‑employment concepts in these regulations at all.
Should the Department adopt negotiator Luke Hoffman’s proposal, Aaron warned, the agency could face legal challenges. “To the extent the department is going to rationalize and extend this to nondegree programs,” he said, “trying to adhere to the consequences and philosophical intent of Congress makes a lot of sense.”
In a separate Inside Higher Ed piece, Aaron discussed the Department’s work to finalize the specifics of how college programs will be held accountable under the proposed rules.
Although institutional representatives generally supported the Department’s direction, Aaron—representing nonprofit institutions—and Jeff Arthur—representing for‑profit institutions—pushed for adjustments to aspects of the earnings test they viewed as inequitable. Their concerns included the age and work experience of the high‑school‑educated comparison group, as well as the identical treatment of rural and urban institutions.
In November 2025, Aaron was appointed by the U.S. Department of Education as a primary negotiator to the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) rulemaking committee.
The committee is charged with negotiating several critical topics, including the revision of the existing Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment accountability framework, the integration of the new Do No Harm accountability framework created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3), and the implementation of the new Workforce Pell Grant program, also created by OB3.
