Sponsors (20)
The bill provides clearer, more stable statutory clarity about what counts as a professional degree—reducing uncertainty for students and institutions—but risks misclassifying programs, cutting off loan eligibility for some, and limiting the Department of Education’s ability to adapt definitions as professional credentials evolve.
Students and borrowers gain a clearer, statutory definition of “professional degree,” reducing ambiguity about loan eligibility and program rules.
Colleges and universities get a predictable, stable standard for which programs count as professional degrees, lowering compliance uncertainty from shifting regulatory guidance.
Department of Education and state oversight may be simplified because the statute itself specifies the term instead of relying on external regulatory cross‑references.
Some programs could be mischaracterized under the new statutory definition, changing borrowers’ loan eligibility or repayment terms and potentially harming affected students.
If the statutory list omits degrees formerly covered by regulation, certain institutions or programs could lose access to federal student loan benefits, reducing enrollment and institutional revenue.
Codifying a fixed statutory definition reduces the Department of Education’s flexibility to update what counts as a professional degree as credentials evolve, potentially leaving rules outdated until Congress acts.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Replaces a regulatory cross‑reference with a statutory definition of "professional degree," clarifying it denotes post‑bachelor preparation to begin licensure‑level professional practice and listing qualifying degrees.
Replaces a regulatory cross‑reference with a statutory definition of “professional degree,” clarifying that a professional degree indicates completion of academic requirements for beginning practice in a profession (usually requiring licensure) and represents training beyond a bachelor’s degree. The change inserts an in‑statute definition that lists included degrees (text of the list not provided here). The amendment removes reliance on an external regulatory citation and embeds a clear definition in the statute, narrowing dependence on a regulation and making the meaning of "professional degree" explicit in federal law.
Official title: To amend the definition of a professional student in the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Introduced May 7, 2026 by Jennifer Kiggans · Last progress May 7, 2026