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Where can I find the official Department of Education classification handbook or policy that defines the 11 professional categories?
Executive summary
The Department of Education’s current effort to define which post‑baccalaureate programs count as “professional” — a list tied to how much federal loan aid students can access — has been discussed in negotiated rulemaking materials and press coverage; the proposal and related rulemaking reference an initial list of about 10–11 fields and use the NCES CIP codes as a classification tool [1] [2]. Reporting and stakeholder responses show debate over which disciplines (for example, nursing, social work, public health) are included or excluded and that official text appears across several documents (negotiated rulemaking materials, Federal Register entries, and press summaries) rather than a single “handbook” [3] [4] [5].
1. What you’re likely looking for — where the Dept. of Education has put its criteria
The Department’s rulemaking and proposals that define “professional” programs have been issued through negotiated rulemaking sessions and formal proposals rather than a one‑page handbook; Inside Higher Ed summarizes a formal proposal presented in negotiation sessions that sets criteria tied to credit hours, CIP codes and program characteristics [1]. The Department’s publications and session materials for the RISE negotiated rulemaking are posted as official documents (citations and session PDFs are in the Department’s negotiated rulemaking docket and indexed in Federal Register entries) [4] [3].
2. The technical tool the Department uses: Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)
The NCES Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is the federal taxonomy the Department uses to group programs; summaries explain CIP’s role and that the Department often refers to 4‑digit or 2‑digit CIP codes when deciding program coverage [6] [2]. New rulemaking explicitly ties eligibility to programs sharing certain CIP codes with the enumerated professional fields [2].
3. How many “professional” fields and the disagreement over which ones
Press reporting and fact checks indicate the Department’s initial lists—variously described as roughly 10 or 11 fields—have been controversial because some widely accepted “professional” credentials (for example, many nursing degrees) were left off or reclassified, prompting news coverage and professional associations’ protest [1] [5] [3]. Analyses note the Department’s earlier draft focused narrowly on a set list of fields; other negotiators proposed broader criteria to capture related programs in the same CIP codes [1] [2].
4. Where to find the official text and supporting documents (practical next steps)
Look for: (a) the Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking docket and session documents for the RISE committee (these PDFs include session proposals and the Department’s stated definitions) and are summarized in the Federal Register index of Education Department entries [3] [4]; (b) the Department’s formal proposal summarized in media coverage such as Inside Higher Ed’s story on the November 6, 2025 proposal [1]; and (c) NCES CIP documentation for how program codes are defined and used [6]. Together these sources contain the operative criteria and the program lists the Department is using.
5. Stakeholder reactions and why this matters
Higher‑education news outlets and professional organizations reported significant pushback because classifying a program as “professional” affects student loan caps and financial access; Nursing and social‑work organizations publicly disputed exclusions, arguing the criteria contradicts the Department’s own framing that professional programs lead to licensure and practice [5] [7]. Fact‑checking sites documented how the Department’s moves were characterized in public discourse and provided links to the Department’s rulemaking materials for verification [3].
6. Limits of available reporting and what’s not clearly spelled out
Available sources do not present a single consolidated “handbook” that lists the 11 categories in one place; instead, the definition and field list are spread across negotiated rulemaking proposals, session transcripts/materials, and Federal Register entries [4] [1] [3]. If you want the precise, current legal text or final regulatory language, those will be in the finalized Federal Register rule or the Department’s official negotiated‑rulemaking publications once promulgated [4].
Actionable recommendation: start with the Department’s RISE negotiated rulemaking docket and the Federal Register index of Education Department publications to retrieve the specific proposals and session PDFs; supplement those with NCES CIP documentation to map program titles to the 2‑ or 4‑digit CIP codes that the Department’s proposal uses [3] [4] [6].