2026年2月6日 / 美国东部时间下午4:50 / CBS新闻
根据最近的一项分析，在共和党提出的”大而美法案”下，一些毕业生收入低于仅拥有高中学历工人的大学项目可能会失去获得联邦学生贷款的资格。这一变化可能影响约4万名美国大学生。
高等教育研究公司HEA集团的研究显示，约2%的美国副学士和学士学位授予项目面临风险。该条款名为”不造成伤害”，将于7月生效。
作为共和党税收和支出法案中对学生贷款改革的一部分，该条款要求项目证明毕业生收入高于高中毕业生。HEA表示，大学文科、宗教和美容等贸易项目最有可能被切断联邦学生贷款。
物有所值
美国参议院健康、教育、劳工和养老金委员会2025年的声明称，新规定反映了共和党试图禁止为”使学生状况比从未上过大学更糟”的学位提供联邦学生贷款。
近年来，大学教育的价值越来越受到质疑，尤其是随着学费飙升，数百万美国人背负着1.8万亿美元的学生贷款。
HEA集团总裁迈克尔·伊茨科维茨告诉CBS新闻：”有一条法律规定，每个学位项目现在都必须证明其大多数毕业生收入高于高中毕业生。人们直观地认为，如果你上了大学，收入应该比没上大学的人高。”
“大而美”法案衡量学生毕业后四年的收入，将毕业生薪资与典型高中毕业生比较。连续三年中有两年未能通过测试的项目可能被禁止使用联邦学生贷款资助学生教育。
大多数项目不会失去贷款资格
分析显示，大多数项目预计会通过收入测试，特别是STEM领域和精英大学的项目，其毕业生收入远高于高中毕业生。即使是常被批评培养出难以谋生学生的文科项目毕业生，也大多享有薪资溢价。
HEA集团的分析发现，例如，肯特州立大学英语专业毕业生毕业后四年的年薪约为36,241美元，比高中毕业生高出约1,433美元。
然而，根据公立与赠地大学协会的数据，这些收入远低于近期大学毕业生的中位收入（约每年6万美元）。
伊茨科维茨表示：”即使你主修历史或哲学，他们通常也会比高中生表现更好，因此不会面临失去联邦学生贷款的风险。”
根据无党派智库美国企业研究所1月15日的分析，美国约8%的四年制学院工作室和美术项目面临通过新收入测试的风险——这一比例在所有学士学位专业中最高。
分析发现，美国约3%的四年制学院设计和应用艺术项目也可能不及格，1%的英语专业学位项目也可能不及格。
HEA集团的分析显示，与只有高中学历的人相比，毕业生收入差距最大的学士学位项目是杨百翰大学的营养学和临床营养服务项目。分析发现，杨百翰大学该项目的毕业生毕业后四年的年薪约为18,300美元，比典型的高中毕业生少约18,800美元。
杨百翰大学未回复置评请求。
收入最高的大学项目
HEA集团的分析发现，一些大学毕业生获得的教育回报要高得多，尤其是那些来自名牌大学、学习工程、数学和类似STEM相关领域的学生。
伊茨科维茨表示：”与之前的研究一致，我们确实看到专注于STEM领域的学生收入更高，但我们也看到所有不同专业都有良好的结果，无论是社会学、运筹学还是护理学。”
他补充道：”因此，这是学生和家庭在考虑就读哪所学校或选择哪个大学专业时可以参考的非常有用的第一手信息。”
保护纳税人？
AEI高级研究员普雷斯顿·库珀指出，该条款还可能帮助保护美国纳税人免受低收入毕业生贷款违约损失的影响。
库珀在AEI1月15日的分析中指出，2024-25学年，近30亿美元的学生贷款被发放给了参加未通过收入测试项目的学生。
库珀在关于新条款的博客文章中写道：”鉴于这些项目毕业生收入较低，大部分债务不太可能全额偿还。因此，切断这些项目的联邦贷款对纳税人来说是重大胜利。”
库珀补充说，未能通过收入测试的大学项目应立即开始准备。这些项目的学生将失去联邦贷款资格，但可以寻求私人融资或自付费用。
编辑：Alain Sherter
分类：教育
Colleges with low-earning grads could lose access to student loans. Here’s why.
February 6, 2026 / 4:50 PM EST / CBS News
Some college programs whose graduates earn less than workers with only a high school diploma could lose access to federal student loans under the Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” act, a change that could impact about 40,000 U.S. college students, according to a recent analysis.
About 2% of U.S. associate and bachelor’s degree-granting programs are at risk under the new provision, called “do no harm,” which takes effect in July, according to research from the HEA Group, a higher-education research firm.
The provision, part of the GOP tax and spending law’s overhaul of student loans, requires programs to show that graduates earn more than high school graduates. College arts, religion and trade programs such as cosmetology are the most likely to be cut off from federal student loans, according to HEA.
Getting your money’s worth
The new rule reflects Republican efforts to bar federal student loans for degrees that “leave students worse off than if they never went to college,” according to a 2025 statement from the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The value of a college education has increasingly come into question in recent years, especially as tuition costs have soared, leaving millions of Americans saddled with $1.8 trillion in student loans.
“There is a piece of law that states that each and every degree program should now be required to demonstrate that the majority of their graduates earn more than a high school graduate,” Michael Itzkowitz, president of HEA Group, told CBS News. “There is an intuitive understanding that if you go to college, you should make more than someone who doesn’t go to college.”
The “big, beautiful” act measures earnings four years after students get their degree, comparing graduates’ pay with that of a typical high school graduate. Programs that fail the test in two of three consecutive years could be barred from using federal student loans to finance students’ education.
Most won’t lose loan access
Most programs are expected to pass the earnings test, particularly those in STEM fields and who attend elite universities, whose graduates far outearn high school graduates, according to the analysis. Even grads of liberal arts programs, often criticized for churning out students who struggle to earn a living, also largely enjoy a wage premium.
For instance, English major graduates from Kent State University earn about $36,241 per year four years after graduation, or about about $1,433 more than a high school grad, the HEA Group’s analysis found.
At the same time, those earnings are far below the median income for recent college graduates, which stands at about $60,000 a year, according to the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities.
“Even if you’re majoring in history or philosophy, they generally are also outperforming high school students, so they’re not at risk” of losing access to federal student loans, Itzkowitz said.
About 8% of studio and fine arts programs at four-year colleges around the U.S. are at risk of failing the new earnings test — the largest share of any bachelor’s degree major, according to a Jan. 15 analysis from the American Enterprise Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
Roughly 3% of design and applied arts programs at four-year college programs around the U.S. also could fail, as well as 1% of English major degrees, the analysis found.
According to The HEA Group’s analysis, the bachelor’s program with the largest earnings gap between its grads and people with only a high school diploma is Brigham Young University’s dietetics and clinical nutrition services program. The analysis found that BYU grads from that program earned about $18,300 per year four years after they graduated, or about $18,800 less than a typical high school grad.
BYU didn’t return a request for comment.
Top-earning college programs
Some college grads reap far higher returns on their educations, especially those from prestigious universities who study engineering, math and similar STEM-related fields, The HEA Group’s analysis found.
“Consistent with previous studies, we do see students who concentrate in the STEM fields earning more, but we see strong outcomes across all different kinds of majors, whether that be sociology or operations research or nursing,” Itzkowitz said.
He added, “So this is a really good first slice of information that students and families can use when thinking about which institution to attend or which college major to pursue.”
Shielding taxpayers?
The provision may also help shield U.S. taxpayers from losses tied to low-earning grads, who may struggle to repay their student loans, noted Preston Cooper, senior fellow at AEI.
Almost $3 billion in student loans were granted to students enrolled in programs that failed the earnings test during the 2024-25 academic year, Cooper noted in the AEI’s Jan. 15 analysis.
“Given the low earnings of these programs’ graduates, much of that debt is unlikely to be repaid in full. Cutting these programs off from federal loans is therefore a significant win for taxpayers,” Cooper wrote in a blog post about the new provision.
Colleges with programs that fail the earnings test should begin preparing now, Cooper added. Students in those programs would lose access to federal loans but could seek private financing or pay out of pocket.
Edited by Alain Sherter
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