WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0A coalition of nursing and other healthcare organizations are outraged over a Trump administration proposal that could limit access to federal loans for some students pursuing graduate degrees, because the government would no longer label their studies as \u201cprofessional\u201d programs. <\/p>\n
Without such a U.S. Department of Education designation, students pursuing graduate degrees in nursing and at least seven other fields, including social work and education, would face tighter federal student loan limits. <\/p>\n
The revamp is part of Trump\u2019s \u201cBig Beautiful Bill\u201d passed by Congress, and is prompting anger and confusion, particularly among nurses who are lashing out online. Some social media posts have amplified inaccurate information about the changes \u2014 leading the Education Department to issue a \u201cMyth vs. Fact\u201d explainer<\/a> on the proposed modifications.<\/p>\n But it has done little to quell the furor. Nurses and others affected not only oppose potential limits on educational borrowing to advance their careers, but perceive the move as a semantic insult that disrespects the intense training that is required to achieve their professional credentials. <\/p>\n One Instagram user \u2014 a self-described registered nurse<\/a> with more than 250,000 followers on the platform \u2014 said that she had planned to attend graduate school to become a nurse practitioner, but the proposed loan caps may put that out of reach. \u201cThey don\u2019t want us to continue our education,\u201d she said. \u201cThey want women to be barefoot and pregnant.\u201d<\/p>\n Susan Pratt, a nurse who is also president of a union representing nurses in Toledo, Ohio, called the move \u201ca smack in the face.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cDuring the pandemic, the nurses showed up, and this is the thanks we get,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The Education Department did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed rule changes. But its explainer said that \u201cprogressive voices\u201d had \u201cbeen fear mongering\u201d about the changes and spreading \u201cmisinformation.\u201d <\/p>\n The Trump administration has said limits on graduate school loans are needed to reduce tuition costs and believes that capping student loans will push universities charging higher-than-average tuition to look at lowering rates. <\/p>\n What counts as a \u2018professional\u2019 program<\/p>\n While graduate students could previously borrow loans up to the cost of their degree, the new rules would set caps depending on whether the degree is considered a graduate or professional program. For program without a \u201cprofessional\u201d designation, students would be limited to borrowing $20,500 a year and up to $100,000 total.<\/p>\n Students in a designated professional program would be able to borrow $50,000 a year and up to $200,000 in total.<\/p>\n To define what counts as a professional program, the department turned to a 1965 law governing student financial aid. The law includes several examples of professional degrees but says it isn\u2019t an exhaustive list. The Trump administration\u2019s proposal, by contrast, says only the degrees spelled out in the new regulation can count as professional programs.<\/p>\n The Education Department would define the following fields as professional programs: pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry and theology.<\/p>\n Left out are nursing, physical therapy, dental hygiene, occupational therapy and social work \u2014 as well as fields outside of healthcare such as architecture, education, and accounting.<\/p>\n One in six of the nation\u2019s registered nurses held a master\u2019s degree as of 2022, according to the American Assn. of Colleges of Nursing.<\/p>\n The federal fact sheet noted that a \u201cprofessional degree\u201d is merely an internal definition it uses \u201cto distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits.\u201d It is \u201cnot a value judgement about the importance of programs … It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not.\u201d<\/p>\n The federal rules would take effect in July, but can still be changed by the Education Department after a public comment period.<\/p>\n Nursing leaders decry the change<\/p>\n Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Assn., decried the proposed changes, saying they would widen an already painful shortfall of advanced practice nurses \u2014 whose roles require graduate degrees. Among them are nurse practitioners, who are able to diagnose illnesses and write prescriptions.<\/p>\n \u201cNurse practitioners provide the largest amount of primary care services in the United States,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have a primary care shortage right now. And we\u2019re going to continue [to have one]. Now we\u2019re not going to fully allow nurse practitioners to get the funding they need.\u201d<\/p>\n Kennedy said the new rules would exacerbate the California and nationwide nursing shortage <\/a>because in most cases a doctoral degree is required to teach other nurses.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are short over 2,000 nursing faculty in the United States,\u201d she said. \u201cSo this has a downward spiral effect.\u201d<\/p>\n