US EditionLocal Advocates Concerned over Trump Admin. Omission of Nursing as Professional Degree Program
The U.S. Department of Education's proposal would cap nursing student loans at $100,000 total, potentially worsening nurse shortages amid concerns from healthcare leaders and educators.
- On July 1st, 2026 the U.S. Department of Education proposed excluding nursing from professional degrees, restricting federal loan access for graduate nursing students under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
- Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rulemakers recalibrated definitions including a new Repayment Assistance Plan and will eliminate the Grad PLUS program, the Education Department said.
- Under the proposal, borrowing limits differ sharply: 'professional' degree borrowers can borrow $50,000 per year and $200,000 total, while nursing students face $20,500 per year and $100,000 total.
- Nursing advocates warn the policy will reduce enrollment and shrink the workforce pipeline, worsening shortages, with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing calling the move 'devastating' and urging recognition of nursing as essential.
- Already strained faculty capacity means more than 65,000 qualified applicants are turned away, while research by Linda Aiken, PhD, RN links nurse staffing to a 7% rise in mortality risk.
36 Articles
36 Articles
Trump’s Big Ugly Bill Strips Nursing of Professional Status as Black Women Across the Nation Brace for Devastating Consequences
By Stacy M. Brown Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent The Trump administration has declared that nursing is not a professional degree, striking directly at the heart of America’s healthcare workforce and landing hardest on Black women, who make up nearly 13 percent of the national healthcare labor force and almost 10 percent of registered nurses. The administration frames the move as a technical adjustment to loan classifications. For …
Nurses are rallying to defend their profession after nursing degrees were deemed not ‘professional’
The Trump administration left nursing off a list of “professional” degrees in a move that could directly limit how future nurses will finance their education. Removing the profession from the list will have a major impact, after the passing of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which introduced a cap on borrowing. As of July 1, 2026, students who are not enrolled in professional degree programs will be subject to a borrowing cap of $…
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