AAA urges Ed. Dept. to recognize accounting professional degrees

The American Accounting Association, a group of accounting scholars and educators, is calling on the U.S. Department of Education to reverse course after the department proposed to remove accounting and other traditional professions from its definition of "professional degree" programs in a bid to reduce student loans.

The AAA is joining the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy in urging the Department of Education to reconsider, as are groups in other professions that could be excluded from the definition, including nursing, engineering, architecture, social work, and more. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Department of Education is required to identify "professional degree" programs that will be eligible for higher federal lending limits. A negotiating committee convened by the agency has proposed a consensus definition that designates medicine, dentistry, law and several other high-cost programs as eligible for a $200,000 borrowing limit. Students who pursue a degree in other graduate or doctoral programs would be capped at $100,000 in federal loans. Undergraduate students would not be affected by the lending limits. The Department of Education pointed out that it hasn't yet published a proposed or final rule and there will still be opportunities for the public to weigh in on the issue before the rule is finalized early next year.

However, the AAA believes the omission of accounting from the definition carries significant consequences for students, academic institutions and the future of the accounting profession. 

"Accounting is indisputably a profession," said AAA CEO Yvonne Hinson in a statement Wednesday. "Accounting programs prepare graduates for licensure, demand rigorous professional preparation, and serve a critical public-interest role in ensuring transparency, trust and integrity in financial reporting. Excluding accounting from the federal definition of 'professional degree' programs is not consistent with the realities of practice."

Under OBBBA's revised student-loan framework, graduate students in DOE-recognized "professional degree" programs would be able to access borrowing levels up to $50,000 annually. On the other hand, students in programs not recognized as professional (including accounting) would be limited to $20,500 annually starting next July.

The AAA contends that such a disparity would risk reducing access to advanced accounting education and shrink the pipeline of future CPAs, faculty and researchers. It believes the move would undermine global competitiveness in the accounting profession and weaken a critical workforce at a time when demand for accounting professionals is surging, especially in areas such as analytics, sustainability reporting, technology-enabled assurance, and global compliance

The AAA is urging the DOE to review and revise the classification of accounting programs within the OBBBA regulatory framework; and engage the accounting academic and professional community in shaping an accurate and equitable definition of professional programs. The department should ensure student-loan access reflects the licensure-based, public-interest role of accounting.

"Accounting is a foundational profession globally," said 2025-26 AAA president Mark Beasley in a statement. "Students preparing for careers in auditing, accounting, analytics, and regulatory oversight must have equitable access to graduate education. The public relies on qualified accountants, and federal policy should support and not undermine the talent pipeline."