Did You Know: New DOE Rules Could Impact Audiology's Future
The U.S. Department of Education has reclassified the Doctor of Audiology as a “graduate” rather than “professional” degree. This shift dramatically reduces the federal loan limits available to future audiology students and could have long-term consequences on our profession.
In November of 2025 the Department of Education under the Trump administration released a statement implementing changes made under One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These changes altered the classification of many degree types and no longer explicitly listed them as "professional" instead listing these degrees as "graduate." The Doctor of Audiology was on that list along with nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, architecture, accounting, education, social work, engineering, business masters, counseling/therapy, and speech-language pathology.
This new classification does not change the degree itself or scope of practice, but it does significantly lower the maximum amount of federal loans available each year for prospective audiologists. These changes could be catastrophic for our field by discouraging prospective students from pursuing audiology at all, exacerbating the current professional shortage
National organizations for audiology have been working towards new regulatory language with a more inclusive and precise definition of "professional degree" programs.
The American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) signed on to a letter to the Department of Education and Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) rulemaking committee that requested a more inclusive definition of a "professional" degree and joined the Coalition of Providers and Programs, which submitted a similar letter in support. ASHA also signed the National Alliance of Specialized Instructional Support Personnel (NASISP) letter that requests the more inclusive classification of programs considered "professional."
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