A professor at Slippery Rock University said many teachers already felt they were less respected than other professions that don’t require as many certifications.

Then, a committee, formed to implement changes passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, left out teaching — as well as nursing, physical therapy, accounting, architecture and more — out of a list of proposed “professional programs.”

Jim Preston, the associate professor at SRU and assistant to the dean in the College of Education, explained that many teachers have expressed concern about the regulations proposed by the Reimagining and Improving Student Education Committee (RISE), which notably include distinctions between graduate degrees that are deemed professional and non-professional under the Department of Education.

Professional degrees under the proposed regulations may be awarded in pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, chiropractic, law, medicine, optometry, osteopathic medicine, podiatry, theology and clinical psychology. The distinction notably leaves out nursing, physician assistants, physical therapists, audiologists, architects, accountants, educators and social workers.

“The standards of the profession, whether they are deemed professional or not, would not change in the education realm,” Preston said of educators.

Students seeking some graduate degrees could receive up to $29,500 less in federal financial aid than their counterparts seeking graduate degrees deemed “professional.”

The graduate degrees are also distinguished between professional and non-professional by how much they may borrow. Under the proposed regulation, graduate students seeking non-professional degrees would be able to borrow $20,500 per year in federal loans with a $100,000 aggregate cap.

The aggregate cap, which is the amount that can be borrowed federally over a student’s college career, is currently set at $138,000.

Graduate students seeking professional degrees would be able to borrow $50,000 per year with a $200,000 aggregate limit.

Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University’s director of financial aid and scholarships, said the new graduate loan amounts are more likely to affect larger universities.

The yearly and aggregate limits were proposed in place of allowing graduate students to borrow up to the cost of tuition, which has been in place since 2007, according to the Department of Education.

In SRU’s case, Dobson said graduate students can normally borrow up to the cost of attendance without surpassing those limits.

She said SRU’s graduate students are not borrowing to the loan cap despite several of its graduate programs being considered “accelerated programs.” Dobson said these programs cost more because the time to earn the degree is shortened.

Dobson fears students will struggle to fund their degrees with the proposed elimination of the Grad PLUS loan.

Dobson said graduate students use the Grad PLUS loan to fund the remainder of their education after they reach the $20,500 borrowing limit.

The loan doesn’t have an aggregate cap and could still be acquired with adverse credit. Dobson elaborated most people are only denied the loan if they have bankruptcies, loan defaults or similar significant barriers.

She said without the Grad PLUS loan, students will be forced to turn to the private loan market where loans are more competitive with steeper interest rates.

“Not every student will get approved for a private loan,” Dobson said.

Dobson said SRU awarded 129 Grad PLUS loans in the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 financial aid cycle, which would force those 129 students to find new sources of funding under the new regulations.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to make them less accessible,” Dobson said about the degrees deemed non-professional.

Butler County Community College’s coordinator of news and media content wasn’t worried about the proposed changes, saying BC3 students would be unaffected. He said earlier this week that students could save money by starting at a community college.

Preston said an area where school districts could suffer as a result of the proposed regulations could be in hiring special education teachers. Instead of simply passing a test, an additional costly educational program is required to be certified to teach special education, he said.

“A lot of school districts are really in need of special education teachers,” Preston said.

The Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals said the professional degree reclassification “comes at the worst possible time” for nurses.

“By denying nursing students access to the loan programs that make graduate education possible, the Department (of Education) is effectively deciding that only people with personal wealth deserve the opportunity to become advanced practice nurses, nurse educators and nurse leaders,” said association president Maureen May.

“The proposal shows a fundamental misunderstanding of what it takes to provide safe patient care,” she said.

Union representatives said the change can also create barriers to certain studies, such as nurse anesthesia, in which most programs are full-time and don’t leave opportunities to work while earning a degree.

The American Nurses Association echoed the union’s concern of the proposal restricting access to funding for graduate nursing degrees.

“Nurses make up the largest segment of the health care workforce and the backbone of our nation’s health system,” said association president Jennifer Mensik Kennedy. “At a time when health care in our country faces a historic nurse shortage and rising damages, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the very foundations of patient care.”

In a fact sheet published Nov. 24 by the Department of Education, it clarified the “professional degree” distinction is an internal definition and not a judgment about program importance.

“It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not,” it said.

It further countered the backlash by adding department data indicates 95% of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and would not be affected by the new caps.

However, its number factors in both undergraduate and graduate students studying nursing. The department said only 20% of the nursing workforce has a graduate degree.

The American Council on Education also sent a letter to the department on Aug. 28 asking it to reconsider its list of professional degree programs and asked it to delay implementation until July 2027.

The American Institute of Architects also said Nov. 21 it “strongly opposes any proposal or policy that fails to recognize architects as professionals.” It said lowering the graduate loan cap will reduce the number of students who can afford to pursue a degree.

The institute said it is requesting formal clarification on architecture’s omission from the professional degree designation and preparing comments and alternative policy options.

RISE will continue to seek public comment on the proposals in early 2026.

Dobson, of SRU, said she hopes the department will change its definition of a professional program after receiving more public comment.