LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) — According to the Nebraska Hospital Association, 73 of Nebraska’s counties have nurse-to-patient ratios below the national average, and another nine have no registered nurses at all.

But the U.S. Department of Education is actively working to reclassify so-called “professional” degrees — and nursing didn’t make the cut.

This change would limit federal loans to $20,500 per year, or $500,000 for life. Previously, students could borrow up-to the cost of their education.

In 2022, the National Center for Education Statistics put the average cost of a four-year nursing degree at just under $31,000 per year, meaning a change like this could impact an already struggling workforce.

“As a nurse, it also personally feels like they’re devaluing the profession of nursing,” s

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