In response to the Department of Education’s (ED) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) which would reduce student loan opportunities for allied health professions education as well as nursing and public health programs, the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) submitted comments to ED urging the Department to classify allied health programs as qualifying professional degree programs eligible for the higher student loan cap. Our letter to the Department is available here.
Along with submitting our own comments, ASAHP has also been working with its partners in health professions education to express our serious concerns with the Department’s proposed definitional change. ASAHP joined with its coalition partners in sending joint comment letters to ED in response to the NPRM:
These are in addition to letters (here, here, and here) to ED which ASAHP joined last year.
In addition, ASAHP is supporting several, separate legislative efforts by House Members Mike Lawler (R-NY), Tim Kennedy (D-NY), and Ritchie Torres (D-NY) to provide legislative fixes to this issue.
ASAHP will continue to make the case why health professions should qualify for the professional degree caps, and why a narrow definition of what constitutes a professional degree will deepen the health workforce shortage by creating uncertainty and limiting access to vital support for students entering critical, in-demand health fields. We will continue to keep you informed on the latest developments.
Background
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025, included changes to higher education student financial aid provisions. The Department held Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) negotiated rulemaking last Fall, and the negotiated rulemaking committee reached consensus on the package of proposed regulations in November 2025. On January 30, 2026, the Department of Education issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) addressing these provisions. Comments were due March 2, 2026, after which the Department will respond to comments and issue a final rule, with an effective date of July 1, 2026.
The proposed regulation sets new student loan caps for graduate students, with a higher cap for those pursuing a professional degree. Graduate students would be limited to $20,500 in student loans per year (an up to $100,000 aggregate cap), while professional students would be limited to $50,000 in federal student loans per year (an up to $200,000 lifetime cap). The regulation narrows the programs that qualify as professional degrees, meaning students pursuing an array of advanced degrees in high-demand professions—such as allied health, nursing, and public health—would not be able to borrow as much as those in unaffected fields. The regulations would also eliminate the Grad PLUS program and multiple loan repayment options, limit Parent PLUS, and introduce streamlined repayment options for borrowers.