Outrage as popular college degree is
A new Department of Education policy is drawing alarm from nursing groups after
excluding nursing from the list of “professional degrees”under President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
This label matters because it decides loan limits: professional programs can borrow up to $200,000, while nursing students are capped at $100,000.
Nursing organizations warn the change could worsen the national nurse shortage and harm patient care.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing called the impact “devastating,”
and ANA president Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy said it may block nurses from advancing into teaching roles.
The Department of Education defended the decision,
saying its definition of a professional degree is based on long-standing standards and that some institutions are “crying wolf.”
Fields listed as professional degrees include medicine, law, and dentistry, while nursing and several other occupations remain excluded.
