On #PSLF: Public Statement to US #DoE on 30 hour rule

…guest post by Meg Feeley, originally posted to the adj-l listserv, Contingent Academics Mailing List, October 23, 2014

Please consider clicking through to the comments page for the U.S. Department of Education. Tell them you reject their '30 hour' rule for academics as outside the industry norm, and support a 'one class' rule: anyone who teaches one class (and is not employed full-time elsewhere) should be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. You may submit comments anonymously.

Spread the word! You have until Nov 4th to submit comments here (click the "comment now" button):

Here is the public comment I submitted which has not yet been published.

Friday #adjunct notes—news links comments—whatever

…not in any particular order, not by importance, chronology, category or other ~ just as they flit by or come to mind. The operating idea is to turn out a quick update post. Morning would have been nice but we missed that window. Don't think of it as regular item either unless you see it appearing multiple days in a row. How hard can it be to snag a few from the morning flow to start the day with? Not pick, not select.

More than a hashtag, Marc Bousquet's #mlademocracy is now an organization with a url, a forum and a FAQ…taking memberships, inviting organizations to affiliate and offering badges. As much as the the MLA (and other organizations associated with higher education) might benefit from more democracy, the scope of this one may be limited. #mlatakeover seemed a more forthright tag.

Adjunctiverse reblogged Bryan Alexander's latest, "How to adjunctivize your university." It's on the blogrolls too. ICYMI here it is again. You won't like what it says but should not be surprised by it either. Halloween approaches: call it a #FridayFright4Faculty post ~ for adjunct and tenured alike.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness ~ a reminder about the call to comment on the legislation that controls PSLF, IBR, Direct Student Loans and more.  Federal Register page calling for comments on the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan program is a good place to start. November 5 is the deadline for comments and documents ~ find more details and a submit button here

3 ways to get on the solidarity bus & darker October thoughts

…about the bus part…I've been following, Facebooking and tweeting +Ana Maria Fores Tamayo's campaign supporting immigrant issues and calling the marginalized—social and geographical outliers—to stand together. Her campaign is both online at Adjunct Justice and @AnaMFores and on the ground at protests and all the way to border detention centers. Of the many powerful and moving pictures she has taken documenting protests (sometimes carrying a sign bigger than she is) and trips to the border, I am particularly take the solidarity bus. Maybe because it's public art on wheels or I'm having a 60's flashback, but the solidarity bus sure looks good for my next Precarious Faculty cover image. Besides, Vanessa is butterfly in Greek.

That's one way to get on the solidarity bus. The other two are National Adjunct Walkout Day and Meg Feeley's Adjunct Student Loan Debt / PSLF Fairness Campaign

EduAmerica: infographics, Stafford & more

…a topic that includes but is not limited to contingent faculty, debt or even just higher education. We're all connected in many ways, threatened too and need to build more bridges. Recent NEA support for updating DoL language on UI eligibility to clarify "reasonable assurance" at the federal level is just one example. 


Another might be the flip side or ongoing cognitive dissonance between K-12 and higher ed members in education unions. Better communication there should mean more voice for contingent faculty. Issues affecting K-12 affect higher education. Trends taking root in one will move to the other. Then there is the obvious one.... teaching, plus primarily contingent staffed areas like ESL, ABE, GED, tutoring, tech school, etc. that fall between and often through the cracks.

Last week, the education world was abuzz when changes to the federal student loan program went into effect, many with lasting implications for students and graduates grappling with college debt. Learn more about the issue with this series of education-related infographics, which tackle topics from debt, to digital media, to the disastrous effects of playing hooky