WASHINGTON (AP) — Graduate students in nursing, physical therapy and several related disciplines will be allowed, for the time being, to borrow larger amounts through federal student loans after a federal judge halted part of a Trump administration policy that would have placed them under stricter borrowing caps.
The U.S. Education Department released an updated rule Monday to comply with the judge’s order issued last week, department officials told The Associated Press. Officials described the revision as an interim step while the agency continues its legal effort to defend the original regulation, which classified fields such as medicine and law as “professional programs” but left out areas including nursing.
Undersecretary Nicholas Kent said in a statement that the department does not agree with the court’s decision but will abide by it as the case proceeds. He said officials still expect to succeed in defending their approach to which degrees qualify as “professional.” “We will continue to make the case that the definition is both lawful and appropriate,” Kent said.
For the organizations that sued to block the policy, the revision marks a temporary victory. Eight groups brought the legal challenge, representing nurse practitioners, therapists, speech-language pathologists and other professionals affected by the department’s definition.
At the same time, the department’s narrow application of the judge’s order is removing some degrees from the professional-program category, leaving those students with lower federal loan limits. Theology programs are among the most notable areas being shifted from professional to non-professional status, which means theology students will be subject to a smaller borrowing cap. The master of divinity degree, commonly pursued by pastors and ministers, will remain classified as professional and keep access to the higher loan limit.
The revised rule is set to take effect Wednesday and stems from a broader student loan overhaul included in President Donald Trump’s tax legislation last year. Under the new framework, programs labeled as professional degrees are subject to a $200,000 federal loan cap, while other graduate programs are limited to $100,000.
Before the overhaul, graduate students could borrow through federal loans up to the full cost of attending their program. Trump administration officials argued that imposing caps was necessary to curb mounting student debt and pressure colleges to address tuition costs they said had spiraled too high.
The groups behind the lawsuit warned that the rule could force some students to abandon their programs or turn to private loans with greater financial risks. While many graduate nursing programs cost less than the lower federal cap, some exceed $100,000, including programs in high-demand specialties such as nurse anesthesia.
In a notification to universities on Monday, the Education Department said it’s confident the Trump administration’s initial rule will ultimately be upheld in court. The amended rule is expected to remain in effect during the judge’s preliminary stay, but the department warned that it “may change as litigation in the case proceeds.”
The original rule included about a dozen programs that were deemed professional, which Trump officials had said was not a judgment on their importance but part of a technical definition dating to the 1960s. Along with law and medicine, that list also included theology, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, clinical psychology and more.
The temporary rule expands that list to 29 specific degree programs, including master of science in nursing, doctor of nursing practice, and doctor of nurse anesthesia practice. Others newly added to the professional list include degrees for physical therapy, athletic training, speech-language pathology, physician associates and anesthesiologist assistants.
The department’s communication listed about 25 programs that are now considered non-professional degrees. Along with theology, that list now includes applied psychology, pharmaceutical sciences and others. (The doctor of pharmacy degree remains professional.)
Last week’s court ruling blocked parts of the Education Department’s definition that were added in a federal rulemaking process. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington called it a “misguided” interpretation that strayed from a longstanding definition created by Congress.
The department’s definition laid out several criteria used to weigh if degrees count as professional programs. It said those degrees generally take six years to complete and require licenses to begin practicing, among other requirements.
It also said professional degrees cannot lead to employment that must be “be supervised by another professional” with “more education, training, and qualifications.”
A separate lawsuit filed by a coalition of Democratic-led states challenging the loan caps is still pending.
