FSA Posts First Chapter of NSLDS Earnings Accountability Guide

Federal Student Aid (FSA) has published the first installment of a new NSLDS Earnings Accountability User Guide, posting “Chapter 1—Completers List” on November 4, 2026, as the operational reference institutions will use to meet the earnings accountability reporting required under the Student Tuition and Transparency System (STATS). The guide supports the STATS and earnings accountability final regulations the U.S. Department of Education published July 1, 2026, which replace the Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment (FVT/GE) process.

The chapter explains the Completers List, the roster the department builds from National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) enrollment and Title IV aid data to identify, at the six-digit institutional level, students who completed a program during the applicable evaluation period. Institutions receive a draft list, review and correct the underlying enrollment data during a window the guide currently expects to run about 60 days, and may add, remove, or exclude students. The department then issues a final list to schools and to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS), which returns the earnings data used to calculate each program’s outcomes. Only programs that reach a 30-completer threshold are sent to the IRS; students who are excluded or below the threshold still appear on the list but aren’t factored into the outcomes.

The guide sets out the delivery methods (web, batch, and an ad hoc report), the four-award-year evaluation window tied to each calculation measurement year, and the correction steps that feed the outcomes. FSA says later chapters will address reporting methods, reporting content, and the STATS calculations.