Connecticut Nurses, Educators Pushing Back After Loan Changes Redefine 'Professional' Degrees

CT Insider (01/12/26) Sokoloff, Natasha; Villalonga-Vivoni, Cris

There is growing backlash to the White House's new federal student loan rules, which redefine which graduate programs count as "professional degrees" and therefore qualify for higher borrowing limits. Under the changes, fields like nursing, teaching, social work, physical therapy, and education are reclassified as non-professional, capping federal loans at $100,000 and eliminating access to Graduate PLUS loans, while programs such as medicine, law, dentistry, and pharmacy retain a $200,000 cap. Nurses, educators, and social workers warn that the new limits will make already expensive degrees unaffordable, worsen workforce shortages, and send a demoralizing message about the value of their professions. In Connecticut, which faces critical shortfalls in nursing and teaching pipelines, state leaders, universities, and lawmakers are exploring stopgap measures, but many fear long-term damage to enrollment and the stability of essential public-service fields

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