NASFAA Participates in Panel on New Professional Degree Definition
By NASFAA Policy & Federal Relations Staff
On Tuesday, NASFAA’s director of policy analysis, Jill Desjean, participated in a congressional briefing hosted by the American Council on Education focused on the Department of Education’s (ED) negotiated rulemaking for the federal student loan changes included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
Geared toward congressional staff, the panel focused primarily on the proposed definition of professional degrees in the consensus regulatory text, the impacts of that definition on access to certain fields of study that are not currently designated as professional degrees and will not have access to the new $50,000 Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan starting next year, and the potential unintended workforce consequences in future years as a result of that decreased access.
The panel, moderated by Jessica Blake, federal policy reporter for Inside Higher Ed, also included David Bunnell, president-elect of the American Academy of Physician Associates and assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore; Valerie Fuller, president of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; and Eriech Tapia, government relations & public policy officer at the Council of Graduate Schools.
Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY) gave opening remarks, where he shared details of his proposed legislative fix, the Professional Student Degree Act, which expands the current 11 professional degree programs in the consensus regulatory text to 24, adding fields like architecture, accounting, nursing, and education.
Desjean spoke broadly about the new graduate and professional Federal Direct Unsubsidized loan limits, stressing that who gets access to the $50,000 Unsubsidized loan is especially pressing in the context of another change from the OBBBA, the elimination of the Graduate PLUS program.
She also shared the considerable burden financial aid professionals face with respect to the student loan changes in the OBBBA, noting that financial aid administrators are the people who have to communicate the decisions made by Congress and the Department of Education (ED) to the students who are impacted. She shared that, while NASFAA does not have specific recommendations as to which programs should be classified as professional degree programs, the current definition is difficult to explain to students because the list of programs may appear arbitrary to them.
Panelists also discussed the risks of shifting graduate and professional students from the federal loan programs into the private student loan market, including stricter credit criteria that could limit access to certain fields of study, and the lack of income-driven repayment options and public service loan forgiveness, which could drive professionals in high-demand fields out of lower-paying public service jobs and harm the communities that need their services the most.
Several bills have been introduced to change the definition of professional degrees. NASFAA has not taken a position on any of these bills, but when asked about what congressional staff can do during the current public comment period on these changes, Desjean stressed that they should clearly communicate congressional intent to ED if they feel the proposed regulations do not reflect that.
Publication Date: 2/12/2026
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