Hundreds of colleges and thousands of faculty and staff submitted formal comments urging the Education Department to soften its interpretation of a law that will curtail Grad PLUS federal loans for graduate students. Commenters — including deans and clinical professors — warned that limiting access to high‑debt, workforce‑critical programs (nursing, social work, public health) will choke pipelines into shortage fields. The law to end new Grad PLUS dispersals is already enacted; commenters asked the department to adopt narrow classifications and protections for professional programs before the July 1 implementation date. Institutions argued that steep loan limits will push prospective students away and exacerbate workforce gaps in health care and public service.