Dear Colleagues,
This page contains information on how PSU adjuncts can apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Now is possibly the best chance for some adjuncts to get their loans forgiven. Read on to learn about:
Recent PSLF Changes. Why the current changes are different from previous PSLF conditions and why you might qualify.
Steps to Apply for PSLF. Information about what to do for PSU employees specifically
Additional Resources. Links to helpful resources and free webinars (and tools for AFT members)
Recent Public Service Loan Forgiveness Changes
Here are two changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program that could qualify past payments that were previously not eligible.
1. On Oct. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education announced a change to Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program rules for a limited time. The rule is a temporary expansion of who is eligible for the program. If you previously did not qualify for PSLF because of the type of loans you have, that may have changed.
Please review the temporary changes to the program on the PSLF waiver website. If you believe that past payments may qualify you will need to complete a Temporary Expanded PSLF (TEPSLF) Certification & Application and upload this to PSU’s Human Resource website. The deadline is October 31, 2022.
Once you finish the steps, all future payments on these loans will be considered qualifying even after the October 2022 deadline.
2. PSUFA and AFT-Oregon helped write and pass an Oregon law in February 2022 that makes it much more likely that part-time faculty will qualify for PSLF.
The new law makes it so that each credit hour of teaching for a public college or university in Oregon counts as 4.35 hours work per week for the purpose of determining full-time status for the PSLF program. In other words, 1-hour lecture/classroom time equals 4.35 hrs of time towards your eligibility. This means that a 4-credit class counts as 17.4 hours per week and teaching 7 credits or more in a given term counts as full-time status (defined as 30 hours of work or more per week.)
There is no deadline to apply. This is a permanent change that specifically benefits part-time instructors at public universities and colleges in Oregon.
Full-time status can be achieved by piecing together part-time employment from multiple qualifying employers.
Full-time is an average of 30 hours a week.
This applies retroactively back to 2007.
Classroom time will be counted by the number of credits you are teaching. So in any term where you worked 7 or more credits, payments made toward your federal student loans are now considered qualifying full time payments for PSLF.
Each month that our loans were in pandemic-forbearance can also be counted toward forgiveness.
For instance, if you teach 4 credits at Portland Community College in the fall, then 8 credits at PSU in the winter, and 12 credits at PSU in the spring, then you have taught an average of 8 credits per term. Payments made towards your loans during those terms would count towards loan forgiveness.
You will still need a total of 120 qualifying payments, but both of these changes will increase the number of people who are able to achieve loan forgiveness through this program.
Even if you do not think you have 120 qualifying payments yet, we believe it is worth certifying now to see how much progress you have made towards loan forgiveness.
Steps to Apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness
Step 1: Determine which of your jobs qualify for PSLF.
Portland State University is a qualifying employer, but if you also work other jobs you should figure out if they qualify too. All public universities and community colleges in Oregon are qualifying employers. Private universities are not.
Step 2: Make sure your loans qualify for PSLF.
Unless you have just a single direct loan, there are action items for you to take at this step. If you have multiple direct loans, it is recommended that you consolidate them so that your most recent loan can be forgiven at the same time as your oldest loan. If you have loans that are anything other than direct loans, you must consolidate them before October 31, 2022, in order to take advantage of the temporary program.
Step 3: Consolidate your loans.
If you have Federal Family Education Loans (FFEL), Perkins Loans, or any other loans without the word “Direct,” you will need to consolidate your loans. If you consolidate before October 31, 2022, then payments made on these loans can count towards the 120 qualifying payments you need for forgiveness. You can learn more about consolidating your loans here.
As a member of an AFT (American Federation of Teachers) Union you have free access to a service called Summer that will help you consolidate your loans and make sure they are in the best Income Driven Repayment plan. To set up your account with Summer, follow these instructions. Summer has a built-in mechanism for applying for PSLF, however we recommend that once you have consolidated your loans you apply for PSLF through PSU directly following the steps below.
Step 4: Apply for PSLF.
Fill out the PSLF and Temporary Expanded PSLF form here:
You only need to fill out sections 1 and 2. PSU’s HR will fill out the sections 3 and 4 on your behalf.
Upload your form on PSU HR’s website: https://www.pdx.edu/human-resources/
On the main HR page scroll down and click on the “UPLOAD DOCUMENTS” button
In the dropdown menu click on: Public Service Loan Forgiveness(Adjunct ONLY)
You will need to have your PSU ID number for this upload process
Check to see that you received a confirmation email from PSU
If you work for other qualifying employers reply to PSU’s HR upload confirmation email with the names of your other qualifying employers
After HR completes your PSLF form, they will submit it directly to the U.S. Department of Education, and send you a record of how they have calculated the hours you worked.
Additional Notes
For a limited time, you may receive credit for past periods of repayment on loans that would otherwise not qualify for PSLF.
If you have Federal Family Education (FFEL) Program loans, Perkins, or other federal student loans, you'll need to consolidate your loans into a Direct Consolidation Loan to qualify for PSLF, both in general and under the waiver. Before consolidating, make sure to check to see if you work for a qualifying employer.
Past periods of repayment will now count whether or not you made a payment, made that payment on time, for the full amount due, or on a qualifying repayment plan.
Forbearance periods of 12 consecutive months or greater, or 36 cumulative months or greater will count under the waiver. In fall 2022, ED will begin making account adjustments to include these periods. Forbearance periods provided by the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Flexibilities are not included toward these months.
Months spent in deferment before 2013 will count under the waiver. Additionally, ED will include Economic Hardship Deferment on or after January 1, 2013. These periods of deferment will also be applied to your account in fall 2022.
Periods of default and in-school deferment, still do not qualify.
NEW: Biden Student Debt Relief
In order to qualify for Biden’s new student debt relief, you must take action. First, sign up for notifications here: https://www.ed.gov/subscriptions. Click the button for “NEW!! Federal Student Loan Borrower Updates.” This will allow you to get notification about when the Biden student debt relief application forms open.
Additional Resources
Websites
Free Webinars
AFT Weekly Debt Clinics
AFT National is holding weekly, free workshops for AFT members. These 90-minute sessions will provide
Information on how to enroll in income-driven student loan repayment programs;
Help in enrolling in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program;
Opportunities to interact with members who haven’t been engaged with their union;
A curriculum that demonstrates the power of our union in improving the lives of AFT members and the people in our communities;
A resource to help persuade union members to become activists and leaders.
View calendar and register here: https://web.cvent.com/event/44eafa4a-5536-45de-88a1-10d9f479c7b2/register
Video of AFT-Oregon member who had debt forgiven:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wVFePWyGvA&ab_channel=AFT-Oregon
Student Borrower Protection Network Webinars
The Student Borrower Protection Network is holding multiple free webinars to highlight updates to the PSLF program, guidance on how to navigate the new process, and an opportunity to ask questions about accessing debt relief. Here are the dates for webinars (note time is in Eastern Standard Time, not Pacific):
September 8, 2022, 5 pm ET
September 22, 2022 12 pm ET
September 27, 2022, 6 pm ET
October 4, 2022, 6 pm ET
October 6, 2022, 12 pm ET
October 17, 2022, 12 pm ET
October 25, 2022, 6 pm ET