COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) – New federal student-loan rules could make it harder for South Carolina nursing students to afford graduate programs, raising concerns among health officials about the state’s growing nursing shortage.
Beginning in July 2026, the U.S. Department of Education will no longer classify graduate nursing as a “professional degree.” That shift will change how much federal aid nursing students can access.
Graduate nursing programs train much of South Carolina’s future workforce, and advocates warn the reclassification comes at a time when the state already struggles to recruit and keep nurses…