The WICPA and state CPA societies across the country are joining the AICPA in urging the U.S. Department of Education to recognize accounting programs as professional degree programs.
In a letter to the Department of Education on Friday, Dec. 5, the AICPA and state CPA societies nationwide urged the department to include accounting programs leading to CPA licensure within its definition of “professional degree.”
While higher education reforms were included in H.R. 1 — commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — the Department of Education only recently released proposed changes that would reclassify professional degree programs. Unfortunately, accounting is not currently listed among those programs.
The definitions of professional degree programs help determine loan eligibility, which can be a critical differentiator for a student striving to complete an accounting degree program and become a CPA.
“Excluding CPA-track programs from the definition of a professional degree would create unintended consequences,” the AICPA said. Read the letter.