Hello and welcome back to The Markup, Inside Higher Ed’s weekly roundup of all things higher ed policy. I’m your host, Katherine Knott, IHE’s news editor.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development told colleges this week that affinity housing is illegal, and the Education Department threw a lifeline to an embattled programmatic accreditor. Meanwhile, the Justice Department scored another victory in its campaign against policies that allow eligible undocumented students to pay in-state tuition. This time, it was Kansas that quickly agreed to end its state law after the DOJ sued.
This Week’s Big Story
The Education Department’s monthslong effort to implement new loan limits hit a snag Wednesday when a federal judge blocked its definition for professional programs.
The new limits are part of the slew of policy changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In its interpretation, the Trump administration essentially defined only 11 degree programs as professional, making them eligible for higher loan caps—$50K a year and $200K over all. All other programs are considered “graduate” and subject to a lower cap of $20,500 a year and $100K over all.
Professional associations and institutions have argued for months that the narrow definition would potentially limit college access for hundreds of thousands of students and weaken pipelines for several high-demand health-care jobs . Several member groups including those representing physician associates and nurses quickly sued over the definition.
Which brings us to Wednesday’s decision. Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said the Education Department didn’t have the authority to change the professional definition, since Congress incorporated one in OBBBA. Howell put the department’s definition on hold as litigation continues.
So what happens now? It’s a bit unclear, and the answer could change before the rest of the rule takes effect next week on July 1. The Education Department will likely appeal.
But for now, we know loan limits remain in place because they are in the law, and ED will have to apply the professional definition in the statute. Under that definition, a professional degree must signify 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. Professional licensure is also generally required
The department has already done some work to figure out which degree programs qualify under the statutory definition, and ED told the court it could decide “relatively quickly” whether certain degrees meet the criteria, according to Howell’s opinion.
For now, the plaintiffs are celebrating the ruling, even though they didn’t get everything they wanted.
“Thousands of prospective PA students remain unable to make long-term decisions about their education and future careers with confidence,” the physician associates’ group said in a statement. “The uncertainty created by this rule continues to threaten the future healthcare workforce at a time when communities across the country already face growing provider shortages.”
