Inside Higher Ed, Lawmakers and Universities Push Back on Loan Caps:
Hundreds of lawmakers have joined dozens of university leaders and academic trade associations in urging the Department of Education to amend its new regulations on federal student loans, arguing the current rule will deter students from pursuing high-demand degree programs and thus exacerbate dire health-care workforce shortages.
The 240-page regulation, first released in January, narrowly interprets the new loan limits established by Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act by designating only a select group of 11 postbaccalaureate degree programs “professional.” Students enrolled in those programs will be allowed to borrow up to $50,000 per year, the regulations say. The other programs will be labeled “graduate,” meaning borrowers can borrow only half that amount from the government.
But critics want the department to expand its definition of professional, adding to the list other high-cost, high-demand medical professions such as physician assistantship, nurse anesthesiology, speech pathology and occupational therapy. Some lobbying groups—including the American Council on Education—hope to see the definition expand even further and include licensed professions such as social work, education and accounting.
The public comment period for the loan caps ended Monday at midnight; as of Tuesday afternoon, the Education Department had received nearly more than 126,000 responses—most of them unfavorable. (Only about 17,500 of those comments were publicly posted as of Tuesday evening.)
Many comments—including a bipartisan, bicameral letter signed by more than 150 members of Congress—focused specifically on the detriment such a loan cap would have on the future of nursing, which the regulations do not deem a “professional” degree. But others, including the Democratic senators representing Virginia and Republican representative Mike Lawler of New York, encouraged the department to consider concerns beyond immediate bedside care.
H.R.6718 – Professional Student Degree Act:
To amend the definition of professional degree in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
This Act may be cited as the “Professional Student Degree Act”.
SEC. 2. Professional degree defined.
Section 455(a)(4)(C) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)(4)(C)) is amended—
(1) in clause (ii), by striking “, as defined under section 668.2 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this paragraph),”; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
“(iii) PROFESSIONAL DEGREE.—In this paragraph, the term ‘professional degree’—
“(I) means a degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession (for which professional licensure is also commonly required), and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor’s degree, as determined by the Secretary; and
“(II) includes each of the following degrees:
“(aa) Pharmacy (Pharm.D.).
“(bb) Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.).
“(cc) Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.).
“(dd) Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.).
“(ee) Law (L.L.B. or J.D.).
“(ff) Medicine (M.D.).
“(gg) Optometry (O.D.).
“(hh) Osteopathic Medicine/Osteopathy (D.O.).
“(ii) Podiatric Medicine/Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.).
“(jj) Theology/Theological Studies (M.Div. or M.H.L.).
“(kk) Clinical Psychology (Psy.D. or Ph.D.).
“(ll) Ministry (D.Min.).
“(mm) Social Work (M.S.W. or D.S.W.).
“(nn) Audiology (Au.D.).
“(oo) Physician Assistant/Associate (M.P.A.S., M.S.P.A.S., M.M.S., or M.S.).
“(pp) Occupational Therapy (M.O.T. of O.T.D.).
“(qq) Physical Therapy (D.P.T.).
“(rr) Nursing (M.S.N., D.N.P., or Ph.D.).
“(ss) Public Health (M.P.H.).
“(tt) Business Administration and Management, General (M.B.A. or D.B.A.).
“(uu) Accounting (M.Acc. or M.S.A.).
“(vv) Architecture (M.Arch.).
“(ww) Education (M.A., M.S., M.A.T., M.Ed.).
“(xx) Special Education (M.Ed. or M.S.Ed.).
“(yy) Any other degree that meets the requirements of subclause (I), as determined by the Secretary.”.
