NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING SESSION CONCLUDES, SUPPORTS ENTIRE PACKAGE OF OBBBA PROVISIONS
As we highlighted last week, the Department of Education’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee reached consensus on all 17 proposals tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Under OBBB, students in professional programs can borrow up to $50,000 per year and a total of $200,000, while those in other graduate programs are capped at $20,500 annually and $100,000 overall, if they are first-time graduate students.
The agreement followed several weeks of debate over the definition of “professional student” and “professional degree,” which will determine access to higher annual and aggregate student loan limits. According to the Department, that list includes Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.) and Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.).
The consensus language will now be posted, likely in early 2026, by the Department as a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking open to public comment before a final rule is established for implementation. The Department has stated their intention to have the final rule effective leading into the 2026-27 academic year.
Key highlights include:
- New definition of professional degree: ED proposed that a professional degree:
- Prepares students for entry into a licensed profession;
- Is generally at the doctoral level and requires at least six years of postsecondary study, including two years beyond the bachelor’s;
- Requires professional licensure to begin practice; and
- Falls within specific four-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes, such as law, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and related fields.
- Loan limit clarification: ED added language specifying that institutions may define “program of study” as an eligible program when applying institutionally determined loan limits to prevent confusion across majors.
- Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) adjustments:
- For married borrowers filing jointly, monthly payments will be proportional to each borrower’s share of total debt.
- Minimum monthly payments will be $10.
- Periods of deferment or forbearance will not count toward forgiveness under RAP or be eligible for buyback.
A separate committee--the Accountability in Higher Education and Access through Demand (AHEAD) committee--is set to convene in December to discuss additional OBBBA provisions, including institutional and program accountability, Pell Grants, and other issues.
