Opinion: consequences of US declassification of nursing and other professions
In November 2025, the U.S. Department of Education reclassified nursing, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, physical therapists, audiologists, architects, accountants, educators and social workers so that they is no longer considered “professional degrees” for student loan purposes. (See https://www.clearhq.org/news/us-nursing-and-others-no-longer-considered-professional-degree-for-student-loan-purposes). Zubin Austin, professor and academic director of the Centre for Practice Excellence at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, shares this analysis:
"The most immediate practical impact of this change in designation will be a significant reduction in the amount of financial aid that will be available to students in these fields. This of course will reduce access to education and most likely will further worsen existing skills shortages, particularly in high-needs fields such as nursing and teaching. It is perhaps not a coincidence that many of the fields affected are female-dominated.
More ominously but less widely discussed are the implications of governments or bureaucrats deciding what a profession is and what it is not. While the main driver for this policy-change proposal appears to be linked to limiting student aid, the implications of this in terms of reducing the influence, legitimacy and standing of these professions, both within the public’s eye and as a priority for postsecondary institutions, requires further analysis."