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Did the department of Education reclassify professional degrees factcheck
Executive summary
The Department of Education (ED) and its RISE committee have proposed a narrower regulatory definition of “professional degree” that would reduce the number of programs eligible for the higher loan limits created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA); reporting and advocacy groups say this would drop roughly 2,000 programs to fewer than 600 and explicitly risk excluding nursing, public health, physician assistants and other health fields from “professional” status [1] [2]. ED officials dispute some characterizations — ED says the proposal aligns with a long-standing regulatory definition and that committee language reflects historical precedent — but higher-education groups, nursing associations and public-health organizations warn the change would reduce access to higher federal loan caps and harm workforce pipelines [3] [4] [5].
1. What the Department actually proposed — a narrower legal test
ED’s draft (presented in negotiated-rule sessions) sets stricter criteria for a program to qualify as a “professional degree,” emphasizing doctoral-level instruction, years of post-baccalaureate study, inclusion in specific CIP code groupings, and demonstration that graduates are ready to begin practice; that proposal is less inclusive than alternative plans offered by other negotiators and would limit the list of recognized professions to about 11 core fields plus some doctoral programs [6] [2].
2. Immediate practical effect on loan limits and student aid
Under OBBBA’s financing rules, students in programs classified as professional would keep access to much larger annual and aggregate federal loan limits (for example, professional students could have limits up to $50,500 annually and $200,000 aggregate in the framework described in reporting), while students in non‑professional graduate programs face much lower caps; narrowing the definition therefore reduces how many graduate students can borrow at the higher levels [7].
3. Who would be reclassified — healthcare and allied fields at risk
Multiple outlets and advocacy posts list nursing (MSN, DNP, NP, CRNA, CNM), physician assistant programs, occupational/physical therapy, audiology, public health (MPH, DrPH), and several other health and helping professions as likely to lose “professional” designation under ED’s draft; university associations and professional groups say that result would be widespread and consequential [1] [4] [2].
4. Pushback from professional organizations and higher-ed groups
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, NASFAA, the Association of American Universities and public-health schools have publicly urged ED to retain professional-degree status for advanced nursing and public-health programs, arguing reclassification would harm workforce capacity, equity, and students’ ability to finance degrees [4] [8] [2] [5].
5. The Department’s rebuttal and competing framing
ED’s press office told Newsweek the “change” framing is “fake news,” arguing the consensus-based committee language aligns with longstanding regulatory precedent and claiming the department has been consistent on what constitutes a professional degree; ED emphasizes the committee process and historical definitions in defense of its draft [3].
6. Legal and procedural context — rulemaking, negotiators, and precedent
These changes are part of negotiated rulemaking to implement H.R.1/OBBBA and use an existing regulatory baseline as of July 4, 2025; negotiators have debated competing definitions (one more expansive, one ED-preferred) and if negotiators don’t reach consensus the department can publish its own proposed rule — opening the process to public comments, legal challenges, and further revisions [6] [7] [9].
7. What this reporting does and does not establish
Available reporting shows ED’s committee proposed a narrower definition that would exclude many programs previously treated as professional and that several education and health organizations say those exclusions would cut access to higher loan caps [1] [2] [4]. Available sources do not mention final agency rule text, an enacted regulatory change, or a completed administrative determination that immediately reclassifies specific degrees nationwide — those steps remain part of the ongoing rulemaking process [6] [9].
8. How to follow developments and evaluate claims
Watch for (a) ED’s forthcoming proposed rule in the Federal Register, (b) formal comments from associations and schools during the notice-and-comment period, and (c) reporting that quotes actual regulatory text and the department’s final determinations; advocacy pieces and social posts list degrees at risk but sometimes conflate draft committee consensus with a finalized rule, so prioritize primary documents and ED statements when judging whether a degree has been legally “reclassified” [6] [3] [1].
Bottom line: reporting and advocacy groups say ED’s draft would declassify many healthcare and related graduate programs as “professional” and thus cut their access to higher loan caps, while ED maintains its language reflects longstanding regulatory definitions; the change is proposed, contested, and still subject to rulemaking and potential legal challenges [2] [3] [8].