Gainful Employment

Background - Gainful Employment:

An educational program is  eligible for federal Title IV funding only if the program:

  • Is offered by a public or non-profit institution and leads to a degree; or
  • Is offered at any institution and leads to gainful employment in a recognized occupation

These programs are referred to as Gainful Employment ("GE") Programs .

Loyola University does not currently offer any certificate programs that have been certified as eligible under Federal Title IV program guidelines. This means that we are not currently impacted by these regulations.

Why More Rules and Regulations?

The U.S. Department of Education published final regulations on Oct. 29, 2010 in an effort to ensure program integrity at higher education institutions.  These regulations were designed to protect students from aggressive or misleading recruiting practices, provide consumers with better information about higher education programs, and ensure that only eligible students or programs receive aid, according to a Department of Education press release. Most of the provisions in these rules are effective July 1, 2011 (

The Department published final rules on certain aspects of gainful employment on Oct. 29, 2010 and released a second package of final rules on gainful employment on June 2, 2011.  The Oct. 29, 2010 gainful employment final rules specify reporting and disclosure requirements and define requirements new educational programs that prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation must meet in order to be approved by the Department. These rules are effective July 1, 2011 and apply to all non-degree programs at any level of study at all institutions, and virtually all programs at for-profit institutions. The gainful employment regulations released on June 2, 2011 are effective July 1, 2012 and set debt-to-income and loan repayment benchmarks that all gainful employment programs must meet in order to retain Title IV eligibility.

Related Information for Loyola Programs

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (H.R. 4137) was signed into law on August 14, 2008. This Law mandates that we provide you with a significant amount of additional information in a variety of formats.

Updated July 23, 2011