Credential creep isn’t limited to the bachelor’s arena. PT and OT used to be master’s programs. Now, the necessary degree for someone starting out is a DPT or OTD (moving in that direction for the OTD). ARNP can still be obtained with a master’s, but the push is for a DNP.
And it may be beating a dead horse, but I don’t know how we can take such a broad figure, like 1.5 trillion in student debt, average it, and expect to have any sort of accurate number. What was said earlier? 30-something thousand in debt per borrower, on average? The actual average is probably much lower for bachelor’s students as the average for PhD graduates, according to the NCES, is $98800. Their debt is included in that 1.5 trillion, as is the debt of students holding professional degrees (MD, DPT, MBA, etc.) which are less likely to be funded than a PhD. The number sounds big. It sounds like it could be a crisis, and there are some people out there who borrow way more than they should, but is it really a crisis? I don’t think so. Should all that debt be forgiven? I don’t think so. (And I’m a dyed in the wool liberal.)