Our thanks to Sheila Caldwell, BSN, RN, CSN, FNASN for sharing this response from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) clarifying that the proposed reclassification is, "Not a Value Judgment About Nurses". To read the article in nurse.org please click here.

The article addresses the three main topics below:

ED: “Not a Value Judgment About Nurses” 

Myth vs. Fact: What Nurses Need to Know 

What This Means for Nurses

Please see an excerpt from the article below:

"In a newly released fact sheet, ED directly addressed how nursing programs will be classified under the new graduate loan limits."

“The definition of a ‘professional degree’ is an internal definition used by the Department to distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits, not a value judgement about the importance of programs.”
“It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not.”

"Under the Act, certain graduate programs—such as Medicine (M.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S./D.M.D.), Law (J.D./L.L.B.), and a handful of other high-cost degrees—will qualify for a higher federal loan limit of $200,000. All other graduate and doctoral programs, including nursing, will fall under a $100,000 limit.

This distinction alarmed many nurses and nursing students, but the Department emphasized that the terminology is purely administrative."

“The Department has not prejudged the rulemaking process and may make changes in response to public comments.”

A final rule is expected early next year."

"For now, nursing students considering graduate education—particularly NP, CRNA, MSN, and DNP pathways—should stay informed as details continue to evolve."