Excluding nursing from the definition of ‘professional degrees’ caps the amount of federal loans graduate nursing students can receive. The graduate loan cap is $20,500 annually and $100,000 total, while the ‘Professional’ loan cap is $50,000 annually and $200,000 total.

If not corrected, this exclusion would have direct financial, workforce, and public health implications as nursing students potentially abandon advanced practice education altogether. This would be especially concerning given the increasing demand for nurse practitioners, certified registered nurse anesthetists, certified nurse-midwives, and clinical nurse specialists, all of whom require post-baccalaureate education and advanced licensure to practice.

There has been a shortage of nurses in the country. Restricting access to these programs would only exacerbate the ongoing nurse faculty shortage, potentially reducing the number of nurses who can be educated.

AWHONN will submit comments objecting. I invite you to join by submitting your own. We are hoping to send an unmistakable message to the Education Department.

Comments submitted during the federal rulemaking process are public and part of the official record. Agencies are required to review them before issuing a final rule.