As need for nurses grow, a nursing degree classification introduces lower loan borrowing cap

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- For Samantha Krupa, pursuing a career in nursing is a calling.

"My dad got really sick when I was younger, and he was flown to an ICU here at UNC-Chapel Hill, all the way from California. The way that the nursing team treated my family and just him during one of the hardest parts of my life, I was just like, I want to be you," Krupa recalled.

She is now a BSN student at UNC-Chapel Hill, serving as president of UNC IPEP.

"It's really been full circle. I'm not going to lie, not every moment is magical. Those pharmacology exams can kind of be a little difficult sometimes, but it's been really impactful and just pushed me through almost graduating now to my capstone because it really has given me a strong why for why I'm here and why nursing," Krupa explained.

Similarly, Caroline Mott, a BSN student at East Carolina University, shared a personal connection as motivation for why she wanted to enter the nursing profession.

"Growing up, my sister had a neurological condition that caused her to have seizures. Seeing the impact that healthcare professionals, specifically nurses, had on her journey was a big deal to me. And then at the age of 15, I started working in a retirement home, and I noticed the impact that even the (Certified Nursing Assistants) had on the residents in the community, and that definitely steered me towards nursing," Mott explained.

Both are hoping to play a role in addressing a growing shortage of nurses in North Carolina. According to analysis released in September by the NC Health Talent Alliance, about 13% of the state's registered nurse positions are unfilled, above the national average of 10%. It's a gap that takes on greater significance in areas like Raleigh, where the US Census Data notes 1 in 8 residents are 65 and older.

"They are usually dealing with more chronic conditions and more complex care. Once you get into that area of complex care, you definitely need more nurses to be able to care for those patients," explained Bonnie Meadows, President of the North Carolina Nurses Association.

Further, the industry is aging quickly, with a 2023 survey from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing reporting the median age of nurses nationwide is 46 years old, with more than a quarter reporting plans to retire or leave the industry within five years.

"The age of our nurses is getting older, and we also have a graying or aging of our nursing faculty as well. The turnover is coming, retirements are coming. Until we find a way to meet the need of the nursing shortage, we're going to be in this spiraling cycle of not having enough nurses, nurse practitioners, and access to care," explained Valerie Howard, Dean of the UNC School of Nursing.

It is projected that North Carolina will need 17,500 more nurses over the next decade to keep up with population growth and shifting demographics, though nursing industry advocates and professionals are concerned about the impact of new federal loan guidelines on recruitment.

As a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan Program will be eliminated, and a new borrowing structure is set to be implemented. Nursing has been excluded from the grouping of "professional" degrees, meaning it is capped at borrowing $100,000 total, compared to the $200,000 limit for a "professional" degree.

"It really does put a damper on some of students' goals. The whole reason that they're here and they were chosen to be here was truly through their dedication, their heart, and not how much they could afford to come to school," said Krupa.

"It could deter other programs as well. I have friends who are in PA and PT programs, and it's also affecting the way they're thinking about their education as well," added Mott.

The change could have a greater impact on students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

"There is an equity aspect to this of those students who may not be able to access that amount of money to be able to pay for school," Meadows said.

"Learning (of the cap) as I'm toward the end of my undergraduate degree, that if I were to pursue graduate school, which I still hope and intend to do would be capped, that was really devastating. It kind of puts me at a loss of where my pathway lives now," Krupa added.

Both students are concerned that it could deter others from pursuing advanced education.

"Nursing schools are already having to turn away thousands of qualified applicants every year because they don't have enough faculty to teach. When students can't access the loans they need to get their graduate-level education, there are even fewer people who can become educators. And then it has a ripple effect where there are fewer people who can even get into nursing school," said Emily Vitale, President of the North Carolina Association of Nursing Students.

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, in 2023, more than 65,000 qualified applicants were turned away in part due to a shortage of faculty.

"That contributes to the number of nurses that we can prepare. So if we don't have the faculty with graduate-level degrees, we will not be able to make the largest impact in the nursing shortage that we really, really need to make," said Howard.

For those who choose to do so, Vitale is concerned of the financial impacts.

"It opens themselves up to having to take out private loans, which have much higher interest rates, and in some cases can be very predatory," Vitale said.

In a statement, a Department of Education spokesperson downplayed the impact of cost considerations, writing:

An important point of clarification: The Department did not update the federal definition of "professional degree" to exclude nursing. The definition never included it. The definition of a professional degree is outlined in 34 CFR 668.2, which has been in regulation for decades.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes new student loan borrowing caps for Master's and Doctoral-level degrees starting in July 2026. The loan caps fall under two buckets: "graduate" and "professional" loan limits, which have aggregate borrowing limits at $100,000 and $200,000, respectively. The difference between the "graduate" and "professional" degrees is laid out in Department regulations that have been in effect for decades.

Nurses can still take out loans - upwards of $100,000 for their graduate degree. Per NCES's 2020 data, the average cost for Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs ranges from $15,030-$42,880, so most nursing graduates will likely not be impacted by the new caps.

Previously, all graduate students could borrow up to the cost of attendance, which led institutions to hike up the cost of graduate programs, even if those programs have a negative return on investment. As the student loan portfolio nears $1.7 trillion, these loan caps are commonsense and place downward pressure on the cost of tuition across the country.

"There is already a conversation about the shortage of nurses now and many years down the road. This will greatly impact that shortage and make it much greater. That is not what we want for our patients and it is not what we want for healthcare because it will cause the cost of healthcare to go up. If we are serious about the cost of healthcare to decrease and for us to have the care that is needed for our communities, then we need to classify nursing as a professional degree," Meadows said.

The limitation is set to go into effect on July 1st, 2026.

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