Nursing & Healthcare News
Nursing No Longer “Professional”?
Department of Education plans to limit graduate student loans for nurses
Under the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (P.L. 119-21), the federal Department of Education has proposed new limits on federal student loans for graduate nursing degrees.
Redefining “Professional”
P.L. 119-21 sets new per-year and lifetime caps on federal direct loans for students who enroll in graduate programs after June 30, 2026.
These caps will limit loans to most graduate students to no more than $20,500 per year, with a lifetime maximum of $100,000. Certain “professional students” will be eligible for higher caps of $50,000 per year and a $200,000 lifetime maximum.
However, the Department of Education announced in November that it will NOT include graduate nursing degrees among the “professional degree programs” eligible for the higher loan caps.
The list of “professional” degrees will include medicine, dentistry, law, theology, and clinical psychology. Along with nursing, the department plans to exclude physician assistants, physical and occupational therapy, dental hygienist, and social work programs.
Nursing Organizations Push Back
The announcement that post-baccalaureate nursing degrees would be excluded from the “professional degree program” category drew an immediate backlash from national and state nursing organizations. Some of those speaking out include:
• American Nurses Association (ANA)
• National Nurses United (NNU)
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)
• National League for Nursing (NLN)
• Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL)
• American Organization of Nursing Leadership (AONL)
• American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN).
“Limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundation of patient care,” says ANA President Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, RN, Ph.D., MBA, NEA-BC, FAAN.
Led by members of the House and Senate nursing caucuses, more than 140 lawmakers from both parties sent a letter on December 12 to Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent urging the Department of Education to reconsider its exclusion of graduate nursing programs.
“At a time when our nation is facing a health care shortage, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs,” the letter declared.
Faculty Shortage = Fewer Nurses
Because nursing faculty are required to hold graduate degrees, limits on federal student loan funding would make it harder for prospective educators to pursue advanced degrees. That could worsen faculty shortages.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), U.S. nursing schools turned away nearly 70,000 qualified applicants in 2023. Faculty shortages were a major reason, with programs reporting almost 2,100 vacant faculty positions.
“Nursing education is where the impact [of the loan caps] will be felt first,” warns Angela Strawn, RN, Ed.D., MSN, chair of nursing and BSN program director at California Northstate University in Sacramento.
“Nurses leave the bedside to teach because they want to prepare the next generation of nurses. They already take a pay cut to do this. When it becomes harder to get that graduate degree, many will simply stay at the bedside or retire.”
Make Your Voice Heard
Before the new loan rules take effect, the Department of Education must publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), giving the public and stakeholders 30 days to comment on the proposed regulations. You may submit a public comment here. Comment period is open through March 2, 2026.
ANA has also created a petition urging the department to rethink its definitions. You can sign the petition at ana.quorum.us.
CANDY GOULETTE is a freelance healthcare journalist and Magnet Program writer/editor who has served as a communications professional for healthcare organizations for more than 35 years.
In this Article: Legislation and Public Policy, Nursing Education, Nursing Workforce
