In late June, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia set aside the U.S. Department of Education’s regulatory definition of “professional degree” for the purposes of applying student loan limits. The final rule containing the agency’s new definition implemented the student loan provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut legislation (WFTCL).
Under the WFTCL, Congress set higher annual and aggregate student loan limits for professional degrees as compared to graduate degrees. The statute itself defines “professional degree.” Specifically, Congress codified that the term has the meaning as defined in the department’s regulations as of July 4, 2025. In its rulemaking, the department sought to narrow the regulatory definition in place on July 4, 2025, and limit the number of qualifying professional degrees to only 11 programs.
The federal district court held that because Congress has already provided a definition for the term, the department does not have the authority to create a different one. The Court granted a nationwide stay, meaning that the department must continue to use its preexisting regulatory definition of “professional degree.” The Department of Education has made it clear that it will continue to defend this provision in court but has not yet filed an appeal.
Shortly following the court order, the department published an updated list of professional degree programs for purposes of administering the statutory loan limits. The updated list contains 29 programs the department considers to award professional degrees, including physical therapy and nursing programs.
Contact Director of Policy Rob Nelb, MPH, at rnelb@essentialhospitals.org or 202.585.0127 with questions.
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