"According to the Association of American Universities:
The Trump administration has enacted a lifetime cap of $100,000 in borrowing for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students. Graduate students can borrow up to $20,500 a year, and professional students can borrow up to $50,000 a year. These caps don't reflect the cost of actual degrees.
Starting July 1, 2026, the Trump administration is ending Grad PLUS loans, which all but the wealthiest students use to cover education costs not covered by other financial aid.
By reclassifying these degrees as "non-professional," the Trump administration is making education and certification harder to obtain for low-income, working, and middle-class people and devaluing these career paths.
This at a time when there already are shortages of people with this training, especially in rural and low-income communities.
It is not a coincidence that the majority of these are predominantly female occupations and "helping" professions. This is a targeted attack on women, children, the differently-abled, communities of color, and those whose lives are made better with these supports.
Absolutely none of this makes higher education more affordable, which is the real need. No one should have to accumulate massive debt to serve their communities as a teacher, nurse, etc. We have to work on lowering costs rather than cutting off access.
As my beloved husband put it, these people only want the wealthy to be comfortable and have dignity."
A Department of Education-convened committee reached consensus draft regulations to implement student loan provisions in a bill (H.R. 1) that Congress passed earlier this year. The new regulations will limit the number of degree programs that can be considered as “professional,” thereby...
www.aau.edu
