The Department of Education announced a temporarily expanded list of programs that will qualify as professional degrees while ongoing litigation proceeds, making more students eligible for higher loan limits — including core allied health programming, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, speech language pathology, and athletic training.
The Department’s action follows litigation challenging a regulation that was scheduled to take effect on July 1. That regulation would have narrowed the definition of a professional degree to just 11 fields, none of which were allied health professions. The federal District Court temporarily blocked the implementation of this regulation while the case is being litigated. In response, the Department has revised its guidance and temporarily expanded the list of qualifying professional degree programs.
The Department’s press release and full list of qualifying programs can be found here. The Associated Press also provided a helpful recap of the current state of play. Coverage from Inside Higher Ed is here.
Although the duration of the Court's stay is uncertain, it will remain in effect until the litigation is resolved or the Court orders otherwise. If the Court ultimately upholds the Department's narrower interpretation of professional degrees, the expanded eligibility could be reversed.
In the meantime, this temporary change is an important step toward ensuring that students in a broader range of health professions have access to the higher federal loan limits available for professional degree programs—up to $200,000 in lifetime eligibility, with a maximum of $50,000 per academic year—rather than the lower limits that apply to other graduate students, which are $100,000 in lifetime eligibility and $20,500 per academic year.