The Department of Education has proposed changing the definition of what constitutes a “professional degree” to exclude nursing — a move that could significantly limit nurses’ access to graduate education, according to the American Nurses Association.
The changes are related to federal student loan reforms passed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The legislation eliminates the Grad PLUS program, which allowed students to borrow up to the full cost of attendance, including living expenses. Additionally, it places a $200,000 lifetime cap on federal loans for graduate students in professional degree programs — a designation that, under the Education Department’s proposed regulatory language, would no longer include nursing.
The proposed definition was adopted during a rulemaking session in early November, when a Department-convened advisory committee reached consensus on the full slate of student loan-related provisions tied to the law.
As a result, graduate nursing students would instead be subject to the lower $100,000 lifetime cap for general graduate students. Nursing advocates say that change would price many aspiring nurse educators and advanced practice providers out of graduate school. They warn the downstream effects could include further limiting the pipeline of faculty needed to train new nurses and worsening primary care shortages, particularly in rural and underserved areas where nurse practitioners play a vital role.
“I don’t know why we would take this away,” Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, president of the ANA, told News Nation in a recent interview. “This is going to stop nurses from going to school to be teachers for other nurses — we need faculty for nursing. If we don’t have that, we’re not going to be able to continue to teach nurses.”
The ANA is urging federal officials to reverse proposed changes to the “professional degree” definition and ensure nurses have access to higher federal student loan thresholds for graduate degrees programs.
“Limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care,” Dr. Kennedy said in a statement. “In many communities across the country, particularly in rural and underserved areas, advanced practice registered nurses ensure access to essential, high-quality care that would otherwise be unavailable. We urge the Department of Education to recognize nursing as the essential profession it is.”
The Department of Education said it will begin drafting a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking based on the committee’s recommendations and publish it for public comment in the Federal Register. Final rules are expected to be issued in 2026, following the comment period and further agency review.
