Public Service Loan Forgiveness program

Updated: August 25, 2022
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Assembly Member Harvey Epstein is a coauthor of a bill that will make adjunct faculty eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
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What is Public Service Loan Forgiveness?

The federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program was designed to encourage graduates with student loan debt to enter public service. The PSLF program can award forgiveness of federal Direct Loan student debt remaining after ten years of eligible public service and 120 loan payments (ten years of monthly payments). CUNY is an eligible public service institution, as are other public and non-profit colleges and schools.

Many New York Adjuncts Will Soon Qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Public service loan forgiveness requires full-time employment of at least 30 hours a week. Most adjunct faculty have been unable to benefit from the program because they have not been credited with meeting that minimum. New state legislation (Epstein: A9523/ Thomas: S8389), passed by the Legislature and awaiting Governor Hochul's signature, will soon right this wrong by "counting 3.35 hours for every one classroom hour worked by part-time faculty, thus making part-timers [who teach ## classroom hours] effectively full-timers from the point of view of the federal government." Read more about adjunct eligibility and how the Epstein/Thomas Bill.

"Biden Waiver" to Allow Faster Public Service Loan Forgiveness Expires October 31

The American Federation of Teachers, our national affiliate, has negotiated with the Biden administration to create a special waiver to expand the types of eligible federal loans (provided they are consolidated) and broaden the periods counting towards the required 120 payments including the period of suspended federal student loan payments, but they must be applied for prior to October 31, 2022 with documentation from employers and completion of loan consolidation. Read more about the "Biden Waiver "and the October 31 deadline.

Adjuncts: Get Started on Loan Consolidation | Be Ready to Apply to CUNY

The Student Borrower Protection Center recommends that adjuncts wait until the Epstein/Thomas Bill bill is signed by Governor Hochul before submitting their application forms to CUNY campuses to document public service. But adjuncts should begin the process of PSLF application as soon as possible, starting with learning about the process of application and consolidating all student federal loans into one federal Direct Loan.

NYSUT Member Student Loan and PSLF Benefits & Resources

NYSUT Student Loan Resources

NYSUT Webinars

  • August 25, Thursday 6:00pm-7:30pm (Last scheduled) Getting started and getting past stumbling blocks with Q&A. PSC members are automatically NYSUT members. Register at: https://studentloans.nysut.org/webinars

NYSUT PSLF Counseling: PSC members can make appointments with knowledgeable NYSUT contracted counselors. Limited number of appointments available, please make in advance. Register https://studentloans.nysut.org/

NYSUT & AFT Resources

NYSUT and the American Federation of Teachers are statewide and national affiliates of our union. PSC-CUNY members are automatically members of NYSUT and AFT.

AFT Member Student Loan and PSLF Benefits & Resources

AFT PSLF Information & News

Guiding Faculty for Student Debt Relief. AFT provides an online guide for student loan debt relief for AFT members (including PSC members affiliate). This is a nationwide benefit so it will not likely address the NYS and other state legislation that facilitates PT eligibility.

AFT Federal Student Loan Forgiveness “Summer” guide

ForgiveMyStudentDebt.Org

PSLF step-by-step
FAQ

Video Overview

Video Biden Waivers expires Oct 31, 2022

General PSLF Webinars and Resources not specific to Higher Education

Education Debt Consumer Assistance Program--EDCAP (Community Service Society of New York)

Student Borrower Protection Center PSLF Project (videos, guides, FAQ)

US Dept of Education (DOE) Student Aid

Share your experiences and tips applying for PSLF + Suggestions for additional resources for this Webpage

About Part Time Eligibility & NYS Bills A9523/S8389

PSC-CUNY worked with Harvey Epstein (AD74) and Kevin Thomas (SD6) to lobby and pass the NYS bill A9523/S8389 that requires NYS colleges to report adjunct “PT” eligibility for the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness program more closely to actual hours worked than misleading “contact hours.”

Historically it is our understanding that reporting of hours worked of PT faculty is inconsistent, but within the ability of CUNY campuses to consistently report to PSLF FT eligibility for adjuncts under the same parameters of the bill.

The Department of Education requires “FT” public service to qualify for PSLF. Full time tenure track faculty and staff are consistently reported full time by eligible institutions. Ambiguity arises with “Part-time” Adjunct Faculty that are paid by “contact hour” which does not reflect the actual hours of work. Some colleges have reported to PSLF program adjunct faculty hours worked by contact hours, for instance 3 hours per 3 credit class for a total of 9 hours a week for three classes, resulting in adjuncts being turned down by the PSLF program for those semesters. However it is within the scope of the federal guidelines for colleges to report adjuncts teaching for instance three three credit courses of working 30 hours of week and to qualify as FT public service for the purposes of the PSLF program, which some colleges do. The NYS bill requires CUNY colleges to report Adjunct work at CUNY to be 3.35 times contact hours. Hours worked can be combined with employment at other eligible institutions, e.g. other non-profit colleges and other eligible nonprofit employment. To do so, adjuncts need to apply to each institution to document with the PSLF program.

About “Biden Waiver” & Deadline October 31, 2022.

The AFT sued the US Department of Education about the high rate of rejections of PSLF applications and negotiated with the Biden administration special waivers to expand the types of eligible federal loans and broaden the periods that count towards the required 120 payments including some periods of suspended federal student loan payments (e.g. Covid suspensions).
PSLF applications are required to be applied for by October 31st 2022 to be eligible for all of the “Biden Waivers.” This includes application and completion of federal loan consolidation and submission of employer public service documentation. The ten years of public service and 120 payments need not be completed at the time of the PSLF application and can be updated annually.

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