Workforce Pell, Professional Degrees, and a Complicated Spring in Washington

Aired March 17, 2026

The hosts are joined by ACE’s Emmanual Guillory to break down key federal rulemaking shaping student aid. The conversation focuses on the latest developments in graduate loan limits, new rules for Workforce Pell and what it will take for institutions to participate, and the Department of Education’s expanded IPEDS data collection.

Here are some of the links and references from this week’s show:

Department of Education 2025 Rulemaking

Department of Education 2026 Rulemaking

Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee

Hosts and Guests

Emmanual Guillory

Senior Director of Government Relations

Government Relations

Emmanual A. Guillory is an advocate, policy expert, and motivational speaker who currently serves as the Senior Director of Government Relations at the American Council on Education (ACE). In this role, he manages an extensive portfolio of legislati...

Guest

Emmanual Guillory

Senior Director of Government Relations

Government Relations

Mushtaq Gunja

Executive Director

Carnegie Classification Systems

Mushtaq Gunja serves as executive director of the Carnegie Classification systems and senior vice president at ACE, where he is in charge of running and reimagining the Carnegie framework. Prior to joining ACE, Gunja served as assistant dean in academi...

Co-host

Mushtaq Gunja

Executive Director

Carnegie Classification Systems

Jon Fansmith

Senior Vice President

Government Relations and National Engagement

Jonathan Fansmith is the senior vice president for Government Relations and National Engagement at the American Council on Education (ACE), where he leads federal advocacy efforts on behalf of the nation's colleges and universities. He oversees ACE's e...

Co-host

Jon Fansmith

Senior Vice President

Government Relations and National Engagement

Sarah Spreitzer

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Government Relations

Sarah Spreitzer represents ACE and its members on matters related to research policy and funding, federal policy, international students, immigration, and legislative issues. Before joining ACE, Spreitzer held senior positions in higher e...

Co-host

Sarah Spreitzer

Vice President and Chief of Staff

Government Relations

Transcript

Transcript to come

About the Podcast

Each episode of dotEDU presents a deep dive into a major public policy issue impacting college campuses and students across the country. Hosts from ACE are joined by guest experts to lead you through thought-provoking conversations on topics such as campus free speech, diversity in admissions, college costs and affordability, and more. Find all episodes of the podcast at the dotEDU page.

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See all episodes

Workforce Pell, Professional Degrees, and a Complicated Spring in Washington

Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand-driven Workforce Pell (AHEAD) Committee

Workforce Pell and Changes to the Pell Grant

Financial Value Transparency (FVT) and Gainful Employment (GE)

Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee

IPEDS Act Collection

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