ACE and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) convened a Capitol Hill briefing Tuesday to spotlight the consequences of new graduate loan limits and outline legislative efforts to address them.
The briefing brought together bipartisan congressional staff, higher education leaders, and representatives from professional associations to examine how the Department of Education’s (ED) narrow definition of “professional” graduate degrees would limit access to federal financial aid, restricting pathways into workforce-critical fields.
“If a degree requires advanced training and licensure to serve the public, it should qualify as a professional degree,” Lawler said. “Nurses, teachers, therapists, social workers, and other essential professionals are being treated differently from doctors and lawyers. That makes no sense, and it neglects Congressional intent.”
The gathering highlighted the Professional Student Degree Act, legislation introduced by Lawler and endorsed by ACE that would reinstate access to higher federal loan limits for students in additional professional fields.
The conversation comes as ED advances a proposed rule to implement student loan policies enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill by the July 1, 2026, deadline. Among its provisions, the rule would limit the designation of “professional” degree programs—and access to higher federal loan limits—to just 11 fields, while subjecting other licensed, high-demand programs to significantly lower borrowing limits.
ACE will submit comments by the March 2 deadline and has prepared a detailed summary of the proposed rule to assist campuses in preparing their comments.
