Major nursing organizations across the United States are mounting strong opposition to proposed federal loan rule changes that would exclude nursing programs from the “professional degree” classification, potentially limiting access to higher education funding for thousands of future healthcare workers. The controversy centers on modifications to federal student loan eligibility rules being implemented as part of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), with nursing groups warning that the changes could worsen the nation’s existing nursing shortage.
The proposed changes, scheduled to take effect July 1, 2026, would fundamentally alter how graduate nursing students access federal loans and loan forgiveness programs. Under the new framework developed by the Trump administration, nursing programs would lose access to higher federal loan limits previously available to professional degree programs, forcing students into lower borrowing categories typically reserved for general graduate studies.
The Reimagining and Improving Student Education committee, known as RISE, reached consensus earlier this month on the comprehensive package of federal student loan changes advanced through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The RISE Committee functions as a negotiated rulemaking committee that collaborates with the Department of Education to develop regulations governing the student financial aid system. The Department of Education is expected to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the coming weeks that will formalize these significant changes.
Trump’s legislation eliminates the Grad PLUS program, which the administration characterizes as having fueled “unsustainable student loan borrowing” across graduate education. The rulemaking package also caps Parent PLUS Loans, phases out what officials describe as the “confusing maze of student loan repayment plans created by the Obama and Biden Administrations,” and establishes a new Repayment Assistance Plan designed to streamline debt management for borrowers.
The Department of Education defended the changes in a detailed explainer on the Department of Education’s website posted Monday, stating that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act “placed commonsense limits on federal student loans for graduate degrees.” Agency officials argue that the loan limits will help drive down graduate program costs and reduce student debt burdens, noting that graduate students received more than half of all new federal student loans originated in recent years and that graduate student loans now comprise half of the outstanding $1.7 trillion federal student loan portfolio.
The RISE negotiating committee proposed a consensus definition that designates medicine, dentistry, law, and several other high-cost programs as eligible for higher “professional student” borrowing limits. The list includes eleven specific programs, but notably excludes nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physical therapists from the professional degree classification.
Beginning in July 2026, the legislation caps annual loans for new borrowers at $20,500 for graduate students with a $100,000 aggregate limit, while professional students can borrow up to $50,000 annually with a $200,000 aggregate limit. Only students pursuing degrees officially classified as “professional” can access the higher borrowing thresholds, creating a significant funding gap for nursing education programs.
Department of Education officials emphasize that their definition of “professional degree” represents an internal classification system used to distinguish among programs qualifying for higher loan limits rather than a value judgment about program importance. “It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not,” the department stated. Officials noted that while the negotiated rulemaking committee unanimously agreed to the proposed definition, the agency may make changes in response to public comments before publishing final rules.
The American Nurses Association, representing more than 5 million registered nurses, raised immediate alarms about the proposal, warning that excluding nursing from professional degree classification “jeopardizes efforts to strengthen and expand the U.S. nursing workforce.” The organization argues that the changes will “severely restrict access to critical funding for graduate nursing education” at a time when the healthcare system faces unprecedented staffing challenges.
“Nurses make up the largest segment of the healthcare workforce and the backbone of our nation’s health system,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association. “At a time when healthcare in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care. 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 and ensure access to loan programs that make advanced nursing education possible.”
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing also strongly opposed the proposal, stating that despite broad recognition of the complexity, rigor, and necessity of post-baccalaureate nursing education, the Department’s proposal defines professional programs so narrowly that nursing remains excluded. “Should this proposal be finalized, the impact on our already-challenged nursing workforce would be devastating,” the organization declared.
The association argues that excluding nursing from professional degree classification disregards decades of progress toward parity across health professions and “contradicts the Department’s own acknowledgment that professional programs are those leading to licensure and direct practice.” Both organizations are urging the Department of Education to explicitly include post-baccalaureate nursing programs in the regulatory definition of professional degree programs.
The Department of Education disputes claims that nurses will face greater difficulty securing federal student loans, arguing that agency data shows 95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and therefore would not be affected by the new caps. Officials contend that placing loan caps will push graduate nursing programs to reduce their costs, ensuring that nurses avoid unmanageable student loan debt.
The department notes that loan limits apply exclusively to graduate programs and will not impact undergraduate nursing programs, including four-year bachelor’s degrees and two-year associate’s degrees in nursing. Officials point out that 80% of the nursing workforce does not hold graduate degrees, suggesting the changes will affect a minority of nursing professionals.
The Nursing Community Coalition, representing 57 nursing organizations, strongly contests the department’s position, noting that advanced practice registered nurses must complete graduate degrees to obtain licensure and practice in any state. The coalition highlights that the average certified registered nurse anesthetist graduates with upward of $200,000 in student loan debt, quickly reaching the proposed aggregate limit and creating financial barriers similar to those faced by other health profession students.
The American Academy of Nursing echoed concerns from other organizations, warning that the current proposal “could place a dire strain on the health care system related to access and quality of care.” Academy President Debra Barksdale emphasized the severity of the situation, stating, “At a time when the complexity of the health care system continues to grow and costs rise, nurses who are highly-educated, skilled professionals driven by evidence, are essential to meeting the challenges of a rapidly evolving environment.”
The debate highlights broader tensions between efforts to control federal spending on higher education and the need to maintain adequate healthcare workforce pipelines. As the Department of Education prepares to release its formal rulemaking proposal, nursing organizations continue mobilizing opposition to what they view as a fundamental threat to healthcare workforce development and patient care access across the United States.
