APTQI Submits Comments Urging the RISE Committee to Preserve the “Professional Degree” Designation for Physical and Occupational Therapy Degrees

APTQI recently submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Education (ED), calling on the department to preserve the “professional degree” designation for physical therapy (DPT) and occupational therapy (MOT and OTD) degrees. These comments are in response to the new federal student loan limits included in the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) proposed rule published in the Federal Register in January.

As proposed, the RISE rule would exclude physical and occupational therapists, along with other essential healthcare professionals, from its list of “Professional Degrees” and would instead classify them as “Graduate Degrees.” This would reduce annual loan limits for aspiring physical and occupational therapists from $50,000 for professional degrees to $20,500 for graduate degrees and reduce lifetime loan limits from $200,000 to $100,000.

In the letter, APTQI states that the annual cap for graduate degrees is not sufficient for full-time students in therapy programs, given the rigorous course load and clinical rotations that often make it difficult for students to find or keep employment to pay for school. For many students, federal student loans are the only way they are able to afford their living and school expenses. “The APTQI believes that the path to becoming a therapist should be open to all who are qualified, not just those who have the financial means to attend,” the letter reads.

Additionally, APTQI claims that limiting student loan caps for therapy students would decrease the number of applications to therapy degree programs, exacerbating the workforce shortage and further reducing access to therapy care for patients. The letter also maintains that therapy degree programs meet all professional degree requirements listed in the proposed RISE rule and should therefore be classified as such.

To read APTQI’s full comment letter, CLICK HERE.