Recently, the U.S. Department of Education proposed a new classification for “professional” degrees that would exclude Registered Nurses (RN) and Physician Assistant/Associate (PA) programs. As part of the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill, this proposal is purportedly aimed at reducing student loan debt and tuition costs. In fact, the redesignation away from “professional” would limit post-baccalaureate RN and PA students to roughly half the federal loan amounts available to medical students, hindering education affordability.
Under the proposed and widely viewed as antiquated definitions, nursing and other healthcare professionals would no longer be classified as “professional”. A redesignation would not only lower federal loan limits but also erode the nursing workforce, which is already facing a shortage. The excluded fields include:
- Nursing
- PAs (physician associates/physician assistants)
- Physical therapists
- Audiologists
- Architects
- Accountants
- Educators
- Social workers
ASPEN supports the efforts of the American Nurses Association and other nursing organizations in voicing concerns about this redesignation. You can stand up for nursing education and others in our healthcare workforce by signing the ANA petition at American Nurses Association Inc | Nursing IS a Professional Degree. The American Academy of Physician Associates has also created a petition to protect the future pipeline. Access the petition here.