On November 24, AACN's Government Affairs and Policy team presented a webinar titled "What Schools Need to Know About Proposed Federal Loan Limits for Post-Baccalaureate Nursing Students." This webinar addressed the Department of Education's recently completed negotiated rulemaking meetings and the proposed changes that would place post-baccalaureate nursing students under the lower federal loan caps of $20,500 annually and $100,000 in aggregate lifetime limits, rather than the $50,000 annual and $200,000 aggregate limits available to "professional degree” programs. Click here to view the on-demand webinar recording.

Latest Actions & Statements

• AACN and other national nursing associations are leading a petition urging the Department of Education's to revise its proposed definition of “professional degree” programs to explicitly include nursing. More than 200,000 individuals have signed the petition so far.
• Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), a nurse and a House Nursing Caucus Vice Co-Chair, sent a letter to the Department of Education's Secretary and Under Secretary asking for an immediate reconsideration of nursing's inclusion under the "professional degree” classification.
• The National Academy of Medicine released a statement on November 24 underscoring how nurses are essential to healthcare and “deserving of professional degree recognition.”
• As we wait for the Department of Education to publish the proposed rule and open a formal comment period in the coming weeks, we encourage you to take action by contacting your Senators and Representative and encourage them to reach out to the Department of Education to request that they explicitly include post-baccalaureate nursing programs in the regulatory definition of “professional degree” programs.

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