Jill Desjean, Director of Policy Analyss at the NASFAA joins us as we unpack how a legacy definition of professional degrees now shapes graduate loan limits and why that affects the pipeline for licensed clinicians. We map the rulemaking timeline, pinpoint the public comment window, and outline how targeted advocacy can expand recognition for audiology, SLP, and other fields.

• the current definition of a professional degree and its criteria
• how a statistical category became a funding gate
• constraints regulators faced when Congress pointed to old definitions
• why audiology and SLP may have been omitted
• what negotiated rulemaking and public comment allow
• the loan burden realities for clinical students
• workforce shortages in hearing care and patient impact
• practical steps to submit effective comments and contact Congress

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