12/06/2025
📍What’s the Issue?
You may be hearing in the news about efforts by the U.S. Department of Education’s RISE Committee to put new limits on federal loan programs based on classification of graduate programs by degree type. Like most other health care professions, athletic training was excluded from the list of “professional” graduate programs which qualify for access to the maximum student loan amounts.
📍Where does NATA stand?
Under current federal definitions, only a small group of long-established health professions are recognized as “professional programs” for higher loan limits. The categories were created more than 50 years ago, and clearly do not recognize the development of athletic training over that time. Specifically, ATs now have graduate-level education requirements, rigorous accreditation standards, national certification, state licensure across the country, and a clearly defined scope of clinical responsibility -- on par with every other health professional. In every meaningful way, athletic training is an integral part of modern health care delivery. The policy language simply has not caught up. Updating outdated terminology matters -- not just for financial aid, but for the visibility, understanding, and long-term sustainability of the profession.
📍What is NATA doing about it?
NATA is actively engaged in conversations at the federal level to ensure athletic training is recognized accurately and consistently in these discussions. Two letters have been sent to the Department of Education detailing the impact of this classification on current and future ATs, the evolution of the profession, and the need for access to sufficient student loan funding. Additionally, we have joined a coalition of dozens of related health care organizations to help advocate together for a better definition of what constitutes a professional degree, while simultaneously considering strategies to address the high cost of education.
📍Our View on Student Loan Challenges
We hear the concerns of students, early-career ATs, and educators. The cost of graduate education is a real burden for many people entering health professions, and the financial pressures they experience are shaped by several interconnected issues.
1. Education must remain accessible.
Tuition has grown faster than wages in many fields, and athletic training is no exception. We want ATs to choose and stay in this profession because they love it, not because they are trapped by the burden of paying off debts.
2. Service in rural or underserved communities should be supported.
ATs who provide care in high-need settings play a vital role in improving access and outcomes. They deserve loan programs that recognize and reward that commitment.
3. Students deserve transparency.
Clear information about program costs and how tuition dollars are used helps prospective students make informed decisions about their future.
4. Compensation must improve if we want long-term financial sustainability.
The financial challenge facing ATs is not only about tuition — it is also about compensation and how systems value (or undervalue) athletic training services. Strengthening recognition, reimbursement and pay across practice settings is essential for improving return on investment and supporting career longevity.
📍What We Do Not Support
NATA does not support lending practices that enable tuition to rise unchecked or place disproportionate financial risk on students and new professionals. Everyone benefits when educational institutions, policymakers, and the health care system work together to create a fair and sustainable pathway for people entering the field.
📍Our Commitment
NATA will continue advocating for:
• Federal definitions that are inclusive of modern athletic training
• Loan and financial aid policies that support our students and early-career professionals
• Greater transparency in higher education
• Improved compensation and recognition for ATs across health care
• A future where becoming an athletic trainer is both professionally meaningful and financially sustainable
Our profession has grown in remarkable ways. Now we need policies and systems to catch up and grow with us. NATA stands with the students and early-career professionals who represent the future of athletic training, and we remain fully committed to advocating for a pathway that allows them to thrive.
