US DOE Professional Degrees Controversy

This announcement was made last week and it's s causing alot of uproar in many professions including mine, the medical field. 

So the U.S. Department of Education came out with some major changes many believed was motivated by money. I happened to think so too. They declassified degrees to reflect how much people can borrow through the federal government subsidies. Degrees that are professional by categories will get more funding o er those that aren't. 

Degrees the Department of Education Still Considers Professional:

• Medicine (MD)

• Osteopathic Medicine (DO)

• Dentistry (DDS, DMD)

• Pharmacy

• Veterinary Medicine (DVM)

• Optometry (OD)

• Podiatry (DPM, DPO, DPD)

• Chiropractic (DC, DCM)

• Law (JD)

• Theology (MDiv, MHL)

• Clinical Psychology (e.g., PsyD, appears in some drafts)

Degrees Excluded From Professional Status

Health & Clinical Fields

• Nursing (including doctorate-level)

• Physician Assistant (PA)

• Occupational Therapy (OT)

• Physical Therapy (PT)

• Audiology

• Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)

• Public Health (MPH, DrPH)

• Most Allied Health Professions

Behavioral & Social Sciences

• Social Work (MSW, DSW)

• Counseling, Clinical Mental Health Counseling

• Marriage & Family Therapy

STEM, Professional, and Applied Programs Excluded

• Engineering Master’s programs

• Business Master’s (including MBA)

• Architecture

• Education Master’s and Teaching Degrees

• Urban Planning

• Public Policy

• Leadership & Administration

• Public Affairs

• Library Science

• Data Science

• Informatics

Key Regulatory Criteria for "Professional Degree" 

A degree must:

• Be generally doctorate-level

• Require 6 total years of postsecondary study

• Require at least 2 years beyond the bachelor’s

• Lead directly to a state-mandated professional license

• Share a 4-digit CIP code grouping with medicine, law, dentistry, or theology

Consequences of the Reclassification

Borrowing Caps

• Professional students: $50,000/year or $200,000 lifetime

• Graduate students: $20,500/year or $100,000 lifetime

Impact

• Students in excluded fields cannot borrow what their programs actually cost.

• Many affected fields are dominated by:

  • Women

  • Black and brown students

  • First-generation professionals

Likely Outcomes:

• More students forced into expensive private loans

• Restricted access to entire professions

• Shrinking pipeline in community-serving fields (nursing, social work, therapy, public health)

Sectors Most Negatively Impacted

• Healthcare pipeline

• Mental health services

• Public health infrastructure

• Education workforce

• Social service agencies

• Community-based practitioners

Groups Already Raising Alarms

• Nursing organizations

• Public health associations

• Social work associations

• Higher education advocacy groups

Core Message:

• The rule shrinks the definition of a professional degree.

• It prioritizes medicine, law, dentistry, theology, and excludes fields that keep communities functioning.

• It disproportionately affects women and minorities because they are more in these fields. 

• It forces students into private loans with “astronomical” interest rates. Debt slavery trap.

• It reshapes access to advanced education and who gets priced out. If you can't afford it, don't pursue it mentality. 

There you have it.

At least, Mr. Biden from Scranton wanted to cancel some borrowers debt. But was fought hard. He did for some lucky borrowers who met certain criteria. 

I hope this is challenged by the gatekeepers of these fields. But don't hold your breathe. 

I remain Pal Ronnie