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Which degrees were reclassified and which government body approved the changes?
Executive summary
The Department of Education’s recent negotiated rulemaking and draft guidance propose narrowing which graduate programs count as “professional degrees,” with nursing (MSN, DNP), social work (MSW, DSW), public health (MPH, DrPH), physician assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, speech‑language pathology and several counseling/therapy degrees called out in reporting as affected; those changes were circulated as part of the Education Department’s rulemaking tied to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” implementation and the RISE committee process [1] [2] [3] [4]. Coverage is uneven and some outlets stress the proposal stage rather than a final reclassification [1] [4].
1. What’s being reclassified — the lists reporters are using
Multiple news and advocacy summaries list a similar set of graduate programs that the draft definition would exclude from the Department’s working definition of “professional degree”: nursing (including MSN and DNP), social work (MSW, DSW), public health (MPH, DrPH), physician assistant programs, occupational therapy, physical therapy, audiology, speech‑language pathology, and many counseling/therapy programs [1] [3] [2]. Newsweek and rightsnewstime echo that nursing and other health and education programs face a loss of the “professional” tag under the proposed change, which would affect access to higher federal loan limits [5] [6].
2. Who approved or proposed the change — rulemaking vs. final agency action
Reporting indicates the changes are coming through the U.S. Department of Education’s negotiated rulemaking process — specifically a RISE (Reimagining and Improving Student Education) committee convened by the Department — and are tied to implementation of provisions in the so‑called One Big Beautiful Bill/Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) passed earlier in 2025. Coverage stresses this is a committee proposal or draft definition under the Department’s rulemaking, not necessarily a completed, final regulatory reclassification that has already taken legal effect [4] [1] [2].
3. Practical impact claimed by advocates and affected professions
Nursing and higher‑ed outlets emphasize the chief consequence cited: loss of “professional degree” status would lower the graduate borrowing limits and alter eligibility for programs that previously applied to professional students, because the OBBBA and the Department’s draft criteria link higher loan caps and certain program benefits to the narrower professional‑degree list [2] [5]. Nursing organizations have launched petitions and protests in response, per Newsweek and nurse.org coverage [5] [2].
4. Disagreements and caveats in the reporting
Snopes and other reporting highlight a key distinction: the Department has proposed or circulated a narrower interpretation of the 1965 regulatory definition of “professional degree,” but as of those reports the agency had not completed a final reclassification — meaning it’s inaccurate to say the Department “stopped counting” or legally reclassified programs yet [1]. Local education outlets and opinion pieces, by contrast, report as if the committee’s consensus has already effectively removed the status for many programs, reflecting a difference between describing a proposed committee consensus and the final, legally binding rule [4] [6].
5. How reporting sources differ and why that matters
Mainstream fact‑checking (Snopes) stresses process and wording — that the change is proposed within negotiated rulemaking and uses an older statutory definition now interpreted narrowly by the Department [1]. Industry outlets like nurse.org and Newsweek frame immediate, substantive impacts and advocacy reactions [2] [5]. Fringe forum posts republish draft lists and assert a finalized consensus, but those posts are second‑hand and amplify the draft language without confirming formal adoption [3]. Readers should note the different purposes: fact‑checkers track whether a legal change is final; professional outlets focus on sector impact and mobilization.
6. What’s not in these sources / remaining uncertainties
Available sources do not mention a final rule publication date, an explicit vote tally or signature that legally effectuates the reclassification, nor do they provide the full, definitive regulatory text as adopted (not found in current reporting) [1] [4]. Coverage also does not, in the provided materials, include responses from every affected accrediting body or detailed modeling of borrower impact thresholds tied to particular degree programs [2] [5].
7. How to follow up reliably
To confirm whether the reclassification becomes final and exactly which degrees are legally recategorized, check the Federal Register for the Department of Education’s final rule and the negotiated‑rulemaking committee’s published consensus documents; current reporting indicates the draft emerged from the Department’s RISE committee and rulemaking tied to OBBBA implementation [4] [1]. Meanwhile, professional associations (e.g., American Nurses Association) and higher‑education policy trackers are mobilizing and will publish analyses if and when the Department issues a final rule [5] [2].
Limitations: This overview relies only on the supplied reporting, which mixes draft/committee language with advocacy coverage; confirm any legal or financial effects against the Department of Education’s formal rule publication [1] [4].