Important Federal Update, Proposed Graduate Loan Caps Leave Nursing Behind

November 21, 2025 - The U.S. Department of Education is preparing to implement new student loan caps under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).” Unfortunately, nursing has been excluded from the higher borrowing limits designated for “professional degree” programs.

 

What’s Happening?

The Department of Education plans to create a new “first professional degree” category with increased borrowing limits:

• $50,000 per year
• $200,000 lifetime cap

However, nursing graduate degrees have been excluded from this category. Instead, nursing students would fall under the much lower standard graduate loan cap:

• $20,500 per year
• $100,000 lifetime cap
•  

This means future APRNs and graduate-level nursing students could face loan limits that do not reflect the true cost of advanced nursing education.

 

Why Nursing Is Being Left Out

Historically, nursing master’s and doctoral programs have been classified as “academic graduate programs,” not as first-professional degrees despite increasingly complex scopes of practice and high educational costs.

As the rule is currently being shaped, this older classification could severely disadvantage nurses seeking advanced degrees.

 

What Happens Next?

The Department of Education is expected to release a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in early 2026, which will open a public comment period. This is the moment when nurses’ voices can influence the final rule.

 

What ANA Is Doing

The American Nurses Association (ANA) is actively preparing a coordinated national campaign to:

• Push for nursing’s inclusion in the “professional degree” loan cap category
• Mobilize nurses nationwide
• Collect stories and evidence showing how the current proposal harms the nursing workforce
• Build a broad coalition to advocate for change

State associations like GNA will play a key role in this effort once the proposed rule is released.

 

What This Means for You

If you are currently in graduate school, planning to pursue an APRN degree, or work with nurses who are this policy could affect your ability to finance your education.

GNA will keep you informed and engaged as this rule develops and will work closely with ANA to advocate for fair and equitable treatment of our profession.

 

How You Can Prepare Today

• Watch for GNA updates as soon as the NPRM is published
• Sign our Petition - Join in asking the Department of Education to include nursing in its proposed definition of ‘professional degree’ programs.
• Share your Story – tell us how access to funding has impacted you and your nursing practice?

 

We’re Here to Support You

Protecting the educational and professional future of Georgia’s nursing workforce is core to our mission. We will be actively engaged in this issue at the federal level and ensure your voice is represented in the national conversation.

 

If you have questions or wish to share your experience related to graduate nursing education costs, please feel free to reach out to us at gna@georgianurses.org.