NASBA has issued a statement on the Department of Education rule that puts accounting on a list with nurses and architects as “non-professional” degrees for the purposes of student loan borrowing. We’ll include the entire text of their statement for clarity’s sake:
The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) strongly opposes the U.S. Department of Education’s implementation of new student-loan policies that reclassify accounting degrees as “non-professional.”
“Classifying accountants as anything other than professionals fundamentally misrepresents the critical work CPAs perform, work that is responsible for the integrity of the global financial systems on which businesses and individuals rely,” said NASBA President and CEO Daniel J. Dustin, CPA. “There’s a reason certified public accountancy has been a licensed profession in the United States since 1896.”
The Department of Education change affects federal loan caps under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) that, beginning in July 2026, will reduce borrowing limits for accounting students to $20,500 per year, compared to $50,000 per year for degrees the Department now labels “professional.” A reduction in loan access may deter a broad range of students from entering the CPA profession at a time when the complexity of markets and businesses require a robust and educated workforce. NASBA maintains that federal policy must accurately reflect the realities of professional CPA licensure, as economic stability and protection of the public depend on a strong and well-regulated accounting profession.
This reclassification also departs sharply from established federal and state definitions, and excludes many other long-recognized licensed professions, including those responsible for public health and safety, such as nursing, architecture, education, and engineering.
NASBA will consult with the 55 U.S. accounting jurisdictions it represents—that license the more than 653,000 CPAs in the United States—and will engage policymakers to ensure accounting is restored to the professional degree category.
NASBA stands ready to work collaboratively with policymakers to address this issue and to support solutions that strengthen the profession and protect the public.
If you have an opinion on this topic you want to get off your chest please use the comment section on our original article: Accountants Inexplicably Deemed “Not Professional” Under OBBBA Student Loan Rules
Is this a situation of where the profession doesn’t understand it’s place in the market?
Or
Is this a situation of where politicians did something without thinking about it?
Or
Both?
Why do clowns love tearing down CPA firms with impossible lies but then whine about the BBB not including accountants as professionals? You got exactly what you begged for.
So the accounting profession says we don’t need advanced degree knowledge for the license. Then the profession is upset when someone listens and says, “OK then, guess they’re telling us they don’t need this degree so we can remove it from the list.” You know what happens when you play stupid games….