Major Social Work Organizations Working to Ensure Students Have Affordable Access to Education

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) are working together to ensure students have affordable access to social work education, despite the U.S. Department of Education's (DOE) recently finalized rule excluding social work from its definition of "professional" degrees.

Both organizations are disappointed by, and opposed to, said rule-which reduces social work students' borrowing capacity by half. Beginning July 1, 2026, the annual loan limits for social work students will be reduced to $20,500 with an aggregate limit of $100,000. Comparatively, borrowing limits for students in "professional" degree programs will be $50,000 annually and $200,000 aggregate.

Thousands of NASW and CSWE members joined with us to submit comments to DOE during the public comment period, affirming that social work is a profession and that social work degrees are, and should be, classified as professional degrees. Our organizations pushed back on the flawed reasoning behind the Department's exclusion of social work degrees and outlined how the rule would negatively impact the future of the profession.

While the rule may be final, there are still options for limiting and/or reversing its impact. CSWE and NASW will continue to advocate for increased affordability and accessibility in social work education. NASW has issued an Action Alert encouraging members to engage their local Congressional representatives in co-sponsoring a Congressional Review Act pushing back on DOE's rule.

Both organizations are asking members to urge their local representatives to cosponsor the Professional Student Degree Act. This legislation, introduced by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), would add 13 programs to the professional degree category-including social work.

Together, we encourage our members to remain engaged in this fight to ensure that social work students have the same access to education as students pursuing other professional degrees.