Media Offenders

Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR)

  • OUTLET

    REPORTER

    CLAIM

    Nursing no longer considered a professional degree by Trump administration

    CATEGORY

    THE OFFENSE

    Wisconsin Public Radio’s Corinne Hess claimed the Trump administration was “no longer considering nursing a professional degree.”

    THE TRUTH

    Nursing was never considered a “professional degree.” The Department of Education utilizes the term “professional degree” as an internal classification to distinguish among programs that qualify for higher loan limits, not a judgement about the intrinsic value of the profession. Misinformation on TikTok caused confusion about the Trump Administration’s ongoing actions to implement student loan caps for graduate students.

    KEY POINTS

    • Nursing was never considered a “professional degree” under the Department of Education’s internal definition, which has nothing to do with the value it ascribes to a particular field of study.

    SOURCES

    • WPR: Nursing no longer considered a professional degree by Trump administration
    • U.S. Department of Education Press Release