It is time to take action! The deadline for public comments is March 2, 2026.
Nursing is not included as a graduate professional degree in the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking from the Department of Education's Reimagining and Improving Student Education Committee. This omission limits the amount of federal loans that graduate nursing students can receive:
- Graduate loan caps: limits of $20,500 annually/$100,000 total
- "Professional" loan caps: $50,000 annually/$200,000 total
This classification will sharply curtail nurses' access to graduate education, jeopardizing entry into advanced practice, faculty positions, and research and leadership roles. Without affordable graduate pathways, the educator pipeline weakens and nursing schools will not be able to produce the workforce needed to meet rising patient care demands.
Policymakers need to hear from the nurses who live this work every day.
Your voice matters, and it is vital to shaping informed, effective policy.
Follow the steps below to ensure your voice is heard:
- Refer to AACN's Template for Individual Comments for suggested wording and important points.
- Include the following sentence exactly as written: "I urge the inclusion of post-baccalaureate nursing degrees (MSN, DNP, Ph.D.) explicitly in the list of professional degrees."
- As you provide your comment, focus on describing the concrete, real‑world impact this rule would have on your ability to pursue graduate education, advance in your career, or contribute to the nursing workforce.
- Personalized comments with similar requests make the most compelling case.
- Identical comments will be combined into one representative comment by the Department of Education.
- Keep your statement factual and specific.
- Include information and examples from your personal experiences.
- Share data on how restricting federal loan limits can impact your career, and the careers of your colleagues and future students.
- Do not include any personally identifiable information about other individuals.
- Submit your comments here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/ED-2025-OPE-0944-0001
- Click "Comment" and a new page will open where you can insert your comments, fill in additional form fields, and submit.
- Select "Individual" In the "Comment Category" dropdown.
- Consider which email address is most appropriate to use. If possible, use a personal email address. If using your work email address, be sure to follow your organization's policy regarding public submissions, professional identification, and the use of institutional contact information.
What else can you do?
- Share this issue with colleagues, students, professional networks, friends and family to build collective momentum. (Individuals are not required to be members of the nursing profession to comment on the proposed rule.)
- Engage your schools of nursing, health systems, and associations to issue formal comments.
- Amplify the message to raise awareness.
- Contact your legislators and share your concerns.
- Read AACN's "Nursing, Advocacy and Health Policy" blog to learn more about engaging with public policy.
- Reach out to AACN's strategic advocacy team by emailing advocacy@aacn.org.