No. of Recommendations: 5
His nibs moving to price nurse candidates out of the education they need.
Outrage over Trump’s bill reclassifying nursing as not a ‘professional degree’ for college students
Nursing has been excluded as a “professional degree” by the Department of Education as it looks to implement sweeping cuts to student loads laid out in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
Under Trump’s bill, only “professional degree” students are eligible for the higher loan limit of $200,000, while graduate students are capped at $100,000. Excluding nursing by definition as a professional degree effectively prices aspiring nurses out of their studies.
The Education Department brushed off concerns over the future of nursing as “fake news” and accused the nursing organizations of having had an “unlimited tuition ride on the taxpayer dime.”
An entire four-year bachelor of science in nursing program can range from $89,560 to $211,390, including tuition, housing and other fees, according to NurseJournal.
Nursing wasn’t the only casualty of Trump’s spending bill. Physician assistants, physical therapists, educators, social workers, audiologists, architects and accountants were also on the list of degrees that were not classed as “professional” by the Trump administration.https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/outrage-over-t...The article does not mention what the loan limits are for "non-professional" degrees, so I asked the net sifter.
The new federal student loan limits for non-professional degrees depend on whether the degree is for undergraduate or graduate studies.
Undergraduate Non-Professional Degrees
For undergraduate students, the annual and aggregate federal direct loan limits have not changed for the 2025-2026 academic year. The limits are determined by a student's dependency status and year in school.
Dependent Students: The aggregate (lifetime) limit is $31,000 (with no more than $23,000 in subsidized loans). Annual limits are:
First year: $5,500
Second year: $6,500
Third year and beyond: $7,500
Independent Students (and dependent students whose parents are unable to obtain a PLUS Loan): The aggregate limit is $57,500 (with no more than $23,000 in subsidized loans). Annual limits are:
First year: $9,500
Second year: $10,500
Third year and beyond: $12,500
Graduate Non-Professional Degrees
For graduate students pursuing degrees that are not classified as "professional" (e.g., most master's programs), new, lower limits will go into effect for new borrowers starting on July 1, 2026.
The annual limit will be $20,500 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans.
The aggregate (lifetime) limit will be $100,000, including any loans received for undergraduate study.
The previous Graduate PLUS loan program, which allowed borrowing up to the cost of attendance, will be eliminated for new borrowers starting July 1, 2026.
Students who borrowed federal loans for a graduate program before July 1, 2026 may be eligible to continue borrowing under the prior, higher limits for a limited time. Clearly, the "JCs" figure they can import enough nurses, who were educated at someone else's expense, for their own, personal, needs. The rest of us, can do without. We are, after all, nothing but expendable meat.
Steve
