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Council of Practical Nurse Programs of New York State

2 days ago

Nursing Education Under Attack
The Big Beautiful Bill
Yes…..????
The U.S. Department of Education has officially removed nursing from its definition of “professional degree” programs under the new OBBBA legislation.

What does this mean for us?
✅ Graduate nursing students lose access to higher federal loan limits.
✅ Certain loan forgiveness programs for professional degrees will no longer include nursing.
✅ Advanced nursing education just became a financial uphill battle.

As a nurse leader and educator, I find this deeply concerning.

Nursing is the backbone of healthcare—our advanced practice nurses, educators, and leaders keep the system running. Excluding nursing from “professional” status sends the wrong message about the value of our work.

📢 Call to Action:
We cannot stay silent. Contact your legislators, join advocacy efforts, and speak up through your professional organizations. Our voices matter, and we must fight for the future of nursing education.
#NursingEducation #AdvocacyMatters #NurseLeadership #ProtectNursing

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Council of Practical Nurse Programs of New York State

1 week ago

URGENT ALERT: Department of Education Proposal Threatens Advanced Nursing Education & Workforce!

A recent announcement from the U.S. Department of Education proposes a new definition of "professional degree programs" that, in its current form, excludes post-baccalaureate nursing programs (such as the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and PhD programs).

This proposal is not a bill to remove nursing as a profession entirely, but rather a reclassification that significantly limits access to crucial federal student loan funding for nurses seeking advanced degrees.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the American Nurses Association (ANA) are sounding the alarm, stating this move devalues the profession and jeopardizes the healthcare workforce.

How This Impacts Nursing Education
The primary impact is financial, creating a barrier to entry for advanced education by …

Limited Student Loan Access: Excluding advanced nursing degrees from the "professional degree" classification would restrict nurses' eligibility for certain federal loan maximums and, critically, specific loan forgiveness programs that many rely on to afford the cost of graduate school.

Reduced Enrollment and Pipeline: Facing an unsustainable financial burden, many aspiring nurse practitioners, nurse educators, nurse researchers, and nurse anesthetists may be deterred from pursuing these advanced degrees, leading to a significant drop in enrollment.

Here is the another key point !!!!

Worsening Faculty Shortage:
The existing severe shortage of nursing faculty (who require graduate-level education) will be exacerbated, further limiting the capacity of nursing schools to educate the next generation of Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) & Registered Nurses (RNs).

Who is going is going to educate future nurses ????
Wake up!!

Nursing organizations are urgently advocating that the Department of Education revise the definition of "professional degree programs" to explicitly include post-baccalaureate nursing education pathways. Stakeholders (YOU) are encouraged to:

Submit Public Comments when the formal Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) is released.

Contact Congressional Representatives to urge them to support maintaining nursing's professional degree status.

There is so much on the line.
You don’t have to be a nurse to figure out what’s happening here!
Your voice matters!!!!!

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#SaveNursingEducation

#AdvancedPracticeNursing

#HealthcarePolicy

#HigherEd

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