85 Program Directors Join AANA in Urging the Department of Education to Recognize Nurse Anesthesia Students as “Professional”
On October 30, AANA sent a powerful message to the U.S. Department of Education—backed by 85 CRNA program directors from across the country—urging the agency to ensure that nurse anesthesia students are recognized as professional students under new federal student loan regulations.
Last week, The Department’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee finished draft regulations to implement the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), H.R. 1, which included new caps on student loans. Programs deemed “professional” would qualify for a higher loan limit of $200,000 in aggregate, compared to $100,000 in aggregate for graduate programs. All nursing degrees were excluded from this proposal, but we aren’t accepting that.