WASHINGTON – A coalition of nursing and other healthcare organizations are outraged over a Trump management proposal that coudl limit access to federal loans for some students pursuing graduate degrees, because the government would no longer label their studies as “professional” programs.
Without such a U.S. Department of Education designation, students pursuing graduate degrees in nursing and at least seven other fields, including social work and education, would face tighter federal student loan limits.
The revamp is part of Trump’s “Big Beautiful bill” passed by Congress, and is prompting anger and confusion, particularly among nurses who are lashing out online. Some social media posts have amplified inaccurate information about the changes – leading the Education Department to issue a “Myth vs. Fact” explainer on the proposed modifications.
but it has done little to quell the furor. Nurses and others affected not only oppose potential limits on educational borrowing to advance their careers, but perceive the move as a semantic insult that disrespects the intense training that is required to achieve their professional credentials.
One Instagram user – a self-described registered nurse with more than 250,000 followers on the platform – said that she had planned to attend graduate school to become a nurse practitioner, but the proposed loan caps may put that out of reach. “They don’t want us to continue our education,” she said. “They want women to be barefoot and pregnant.”
Susan pratt, a nurse who is also president of a union representing nurses in Toledo, Ohio, called the move “a smack in the face.”
“During the pandemic, the nurses showed up, and this is the thanks we get,” she said.
The education Department did not respond to a request for comment about the proposed rule changes. But its explainer said that “progressive voices” had “been fear mongering” about the changes and spreading “misinformation.”
The Trump administration has said limits on graduate school loans are needed to reduce tuition costs and believes that capping student loans will push universities charging higher-than-average tuition to look at lowering rates.
What counts as a ‘professional’ program
While graduate students could previously borrow loans up to the cost of their degree, the new rules would set caps depending on whether the degree is considered a graduate or professional program. For program without a “professional” designation, students would be limited to borrowing $20,500 a year and up to $100,000 total.
Students in a designated professional program would be able to borrow $50,000 a year and up to $200,000 in total.
To define what counts as a professional program, the department turned to a 1965 law governing student financial aid. The law includes several examples of professional degrees but says it isn’t an exhaustive list. The Trump administration’s proposal, by contrast, says only the degrees spelled out in the new regulation can count as professional programs.
The Education department would define the following fields as professional programs: pharmacy,dentistry,veterinary medicine,chiropractic,law,medicine,optometry,osteopathic medicine,podiatry and theology.Left out are