Department of Education Does Not Consider Flight Training ‘Professional’ The Regional Airline Association (RAA) has expressed disappointment with the Department of Education’s decision, as part of its RISE rulemaking, not to increase federal student-loan caps for FAA-certified Part 141 flight-training programs by reclassifying them as graduate or professional programs.Effective July 1, 2026, this decision keeps flight training within standard undergraduate borrowing limits rather than elevating them to “professional” status, which would have allowed for higher loan caps.
