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The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) applauds the leadership of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), along with Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), and Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) in their support of academic nursing by expressing concern over the Department of Education's RISE committee's decision to omit post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of “professional degree." , signed by more than 140 members of Congress from both parties and both chambers, reflects an overwhelming Congressional recognition of the essential role nurses play in meeting the nation’s healthcare needs.

As we await the release of the proposed rule from the Department of Education, action such as this letter underscores Congressional support for nursing as a professional degree. At a time of persistent workforce shortages and growing demand for healthcare services, this level of bipartisan engagement sends a clear signal that policies affecting nursing education and workforce development are matters of national importance rather than partisan debate.

This Congressional effort is further strengthened of over 65 leading organizations representing educators, students, clinicians, and health systems across the country. Together, these organizations emphasize the real-world consequences that the proposed loan limits would have for nurses seeking to advance their education and for communities that rely on a well-prepared nursing workforce.

AACN appreciates this broad Congressional support for nursing as a professional degree and is encouraged by the breadth of legislative response, including:

• Representative Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), a nurse practitioner and House Nursing Caucus Vice Co-Chair, to the Department of Education's Secretary and Under Secretary asking for an immediate reconsideration of nursing's inclusion under the "professional degree” classification.
• Representative Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14), a registered nurse and House Nursing Caucus Vice Co-Chair, shared a underscoring the importance of recognizing nursing education within professional degree classifications and urging the Department of Education to reconsider its position.
• Representative Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) to Education Secretary Linda McMahon encouraging the Department to “maintain a wider definition of ‘professional degree’ to include programs such as nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and more.”
• Representative Ann Wagner (R-MO-02) that she “strongly disagrees with the Department of Education’s recent changes classifying graduate nursing degrees on a lower footing than other medical degrees and will be making it clear to the Administration that these changes are unacceptable and should be immediately reversed.”
• Representative Timothy Kennedy (D-NY-26) organized a supported by more than 60 Democratic Representatives urging the Department of Education to include nursing programs within the definition of professional degree programs.
• Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-02) on the floor of Congress highlighting the Department of Education’s failure to classify post-baccalaureate nursing programs as professional programs while the nation “is experiencing a nursing shortage.”

As the leading voice urging the inclusion of nursing as a professional degree, AACN looks forward to continued collaboration to ensure that federal student aid policies support, rather than hinder, the nation’s ability to educate and retain nurses. Sustaining access to post-baccalaureate nursing education is critical to protecting patient access to care and strengthening the healthcare system now and into the future. For more information on nursing as a professional degree, please visit AACN’s website.