Senator Collins Joins Call for Correcting Exclusion of Graduate Nursing Degrees in “Professional Degree” Definition

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Susan Collins and bipartisan and bicameral group of more than 140 members of Congress sent a letter to Department of Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, calling on the Department to correct the previous exclusion of post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of "professional degree."

The lawmakers' letter follows a recently proposed framework from the Education Department's Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee that omits post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of "professional degree," meaning they would be classified as a "graduate degree." If this framework is adopted during the upcoming rulemaking, the proposed definition would not meet the need for post-baccalaureate nursing students, as student loans are currently capped for new borrowers at $20,500 annually and $100,000 in the aggregate for "graduate" programs and $50,000 annually and $200,000 in the aggregate for "professional" programs.

"The RISE Committee's proposed definition will make it more difficult for nurses to join the health care workforce because post-baccalaureate nursing degrees are excluded from the list of health care degrees in the definition of a 'professional degree,'" the lawmakers wrote. "This list includes Pharmacy (PharmD), Dentistry (DDS or DMD), Medicine (MD), and Clinical Psychology (PsyD or PhD), but it omits post-baccalaureate nursing degrees such as a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), and a PhD in nursing."

"However, the proposed definition describes a professional degree as a degree that 'signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree.' The definition also states that a professional degree 'generally requires professional licensure to begin practice,'" they continued. "Post-baccalaureate nursing degrees satisfy these criteria, as all registered nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination to enter the profession. Similarly, all Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) must have a graduate degree, such as an MSN or a DNP, and require national certification and state licensure to practice."

"At a time when our nation is facing a health care shortage, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs. According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), fifty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries received a primary care service from an NP or physician associate (PA), and sixty-six percent of rural Medicare patients received a primary care service from an NP or PA. Consequently, we believe that post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be included in the department's definition of a 'professional degree,'" the lawmakers concluded.

The complete text of the letter is available here.

In June, Senators Collins, Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) introduced the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act, a bipartisan bill that would help strengthen the nursing workforce by reauthorizing critical programs that support nursing education, expand access to clinical training, and help schools prepare more students for careers in nursing.

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