The US Education Department announced on 29 June that it will finalise a rule linking federal student loan eligibility to the post-graduation earnings of a programme’s alumni, a move that will take effect from 1 July 2027. Under the new system, undergraduate courses must show their graduates out-earn the typical high-school leaver, and graduate programmes must surpass the earnings of a typical bachelor’s degree holder. Programmes that fail the test in two out of three consecutive years will lose access to the federal Direct Loan programme; after three years of failure, an institution could lose all Title IV funding, including Pell Grants. The department said the rule is designed to ensure a minimum financial return on investment for students and to curb what Trump administration officials describe as unchecked tuition increases.

The same day, the department issued a revised rule on loan caps for professional degrees, complying with a federal court order that blocked the administration’s narrower definition. The original rule, part of last year’s tax overhaul, set a $200,000 borrowing ceiling for designated professional programmes and $100,000 for others. A coalition of nursing, therapy and speech-language pathology groups sued, arguing the exclusion of their fields would force students into private loans or to abandon their studies. US District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington called the department’s interpretation “misguided”. The temporary rule now lists 29 professional degrees, including nursing practice and physical therapy, but also removes theology and some other programmes from the higher cap, a consequence the department said it would challenge in court.

In Australia, the federal government warned universities that from 15 July they risk losing accreditation for government funding if they fail to demonstrate action against antisemitism, a requirement pushed by the Antisemitism Education Taskforce set up after last year’s Bondi attack. Education Minister Jason Clare also launched a A$6 million social cohesion hub for schools, drawing criticism from the Greens, who said the resource allocation created a “hierarchy of racism” by giving far more weight to antisemitism than to Islamophobia or anti-Indigenous hate. Separately, the government introduced legislation to cap domestic student enrolments at each university and create a new Australian Tertiary Education Commission to manage growth, a plan Canberra says will curb “Hunger Games” competition and train workers closer to where they are needed. The Group of Eight universities and the opposition argue the caps will limit student choice and amount to central planning.

Viewed from Washington, the earnings rule is the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to use federal funding to pressure universities, alongside actions over pro-Palestinian protests, transgender policies and diversity programmes. Civil liberties groups in the US have raised concerns about free speech and academic freedom, while some judges have ordered the restoration of frozen funds. In Australia, the curriculum review and the managed growth bill are expected to face parliamentary debate in the coming months, with a final antisemitism taskforce report due in December. The US earnings rule will be published on 1 July, and the temporary loan-cap rule takes effect on 1 July as well, pending further litigation.