Dive Brief:

• A coalition of nine accounting industry organizations in a joint letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon Dec. 15 declared the group’s “strong opposition” to draft language that would exclude accounting graduate programs from being designated as professional for the purposes of scholarship eligibility. The group objecting to the proposal includes the American Institute of CPAs, its affiliated Center for Audit Quality, and National Association of State Boards of Accountancy.
• Federal loan limits would effectively be capped at $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total, for borrowers seeking graduate degrees not classified as professional such as accounting or nursing, according to a fact sheet from the DOE. The level is significantly lower than the $50,000 a year and $200,000 in total limits for degrees the education department’s draft language recognizes as professional — such as J.D. programs for law degrees, M.D. programs for aspiring doctors and theology programs for master of divinity degrees.
• “Accounting is a profession,” the letter writers stated in bold-face type. “Students pursuing this pathway should have equitable access to graduate-level financing, consistent with other recognized professional programs that serve critical public needs.” They instead urged a “parity approach,” they believe will “sustain the pipeline of future accountants and protect communities and markets.”  

Dive Insight:

The draft language is a product of a November DOE Reimagining and Improving Student Education Committee rulemaking session, where the committee reached consensus on a package of federal student loan-related changes advanced by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, according to the Nov. 6 DOE press release.

The RISE Committee is expected to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register for public comment in early 2026 with the new funding caps going into effect in July. 

The agency argues that its definition of a professional degree is an internal designation used by the department to distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits, “not a value judgment about the importance of programs. It has no bearing on whether a program is professional in nature or not,” according to a release issued by the DOE. 

Other coalition members include: AGA, formerly the Association of Government Accountants; the American Accounting Association; the Institute of Internal Auditors; NABA, Inc.; and the National Council of Philippine American Canadian Accountants.

The expected proposed rule comes at a time when the number of graduate accounting degrees issued in the U.S. fell by 15% and efforts to stave off an accounting shortage may just be beginning to take effect — a shrinking pool of college students led the accounting profession to change CPA licensing requirements in an effort to make the process less onerous.