Nursing and the Professional Degree: How a New Government Rule Could Curtail Nursing Education

A U.S. Department of Education (ED) proposal could have a chilling effect on funding for graduate nursing programs, including those for nurse practitioners and others.

As the proposal moves through the rule-making process, the nursing community is reacting forcefully to the Trump Administration proposal.

In November, the ED announced it would no longer consider nursing a “professional degree,” a designation used to determine how much federal funding graduate students in different fields are eligible to borrow. If enacted, beginning July 1, the ED would reduce the cap on federal borrowing from a total of $200,000 to $100,000 for the nursing field.

Opponents of the rule claim it could put graduate education out of reach for many would-be advanced practice nurses — all of whom play critical roles in the healthcare system.

“Americans should be very concerned about the impact of this proposal on patient care,” said Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Association, in a statement. “For example, advanced practiced nurses, including nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthesiologists, clinical nurse specialists, and certified nurse-midwives are board-certified and highly educated. Their post-baccalaureate ‘graduate’ studies lead to professional licensure as a healthcare provider. In many communities, they provide access to patient care that would otherwise be unavailable.”

The change could have an outsized impact on areas already affected by the nurse shortage.

“We are in a serious nursing and physician shortage that is forecasted to increase,” said Karen O’Donnell Fountain, an ER nurse and director of clinical services for Ingenovis Health, an Ohio-based healthcre staffing firm. “Advanced practice nurses are a key role in primary care settings and underserved areas of the country. Limiting educational resources is not serving the American people.”

Created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the rule narrows borrowing to $100,000 for nursing and other fields. It keeps intact the $200,000 cap for “professional degrees” including the legal, medical, pharmacy, and dentistry professions, among others.

Along with nursing, the fields not deemed professional degrees under the proposed rule include:

The change is being overseen by the ED’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee. In a November statement, the ED accused “certain progressive voices” of fear-mongering and asserted that “Department of Education data indicates that 95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and therefore are not affected by the new caps.”

Still, critics have pointed out that some programs can exceed $100,000 or even $200,000, potentially cutting funding short for these fields in a time of ongoing shortages. In fact, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, a master’s degree in a health profession or related program for the 2019-2020 academic year cost about $30,000 on average — more than the $20,500 per year nursing students would be eligible to receive under the proposal.

Politicians have entered the fray, with a bipartisan message from Congress decrying the proposal. The letter was signed by 140 lawmakers, including 12 Republicans, and sent to Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent, urging the department to reconsider the proposal.

The letter cited the 2024 National Nursing Workforce Study, which found that more than 138,000 nurses have left the workforce since 2022 because of stress, burnout, and retirement.

“Given this trend, we have a strong interest in bolstering the nursing workforce and supporting legislation that will make it easier for nurses to enter the field,” the letter stated in part. “The RISE Committee’s proposed definition will make it more difficult for nurses to join the health care workforce because post-baccalaureate nursing degrees are excluded from the list of health care degrees in the definition of a ‘professional degree.'”

The nursing community itself is also resisting the rule, with widespread reactions on social media and beyond expressing fear and frustration about how the change might affect the nursing workforce, particularly in light of the ongoing nursing shortage.

“The U.S. Department of Education’s proposed rule change excluding advanced nursing education from the professional degree definition could significantly impact nursing and those interested in advancing their education,” said Vicki Huber, RN, MSN, chief nursing officer at Atlas Mobility in San Ramon, California. “Simply stated: becoming an advanced practice nurse has just gotten harder and more expensive. The U.S. already faces a significant nursing shortage, and this proposed rule change could further affect the pipeline of advanced practice nurses who are critical to our healthcare system.”

Some observers have predicted that institutions may lower costs to offset the loan limits and produce more nurses. But according to Huber, that may be easier said than done.

“That’s a good idea, but it’s probably not realistic,” Huber said. “Nursing programs are very expensive to run, requiring specialized equipment, clinical placements, expert faculty, and the resources to maintain the accreditation standards that ensure patient safety.”

Huber encouraged students to look outside the federal government for financial support.

“Be strategic and research all available funding options: scholarships, loan forgiveness programs for underserved areas, employer partnerships, and service commitment programs,” she said.

“I’ve mentored countless nurses who’ve built remarkable careers using these pathways,” she continued. “The need for skilled, compassionate nurses has never been greater, and as someone who’s experienced healthcare from both sides of the bed, I can tell you that what we do as nurses matters profoundly.”