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.

A College Christmas Carol

…at Remaking the University, Chris Newfield compares "A Christmas Carol" to current stories of struggling, indebted students. 

Elsewhere, Stephen Downes comments on the NYT article that Newfield references below, "T[he students] need a broader array of social supports, and most of all, a society determined to help them out of poverty, rather than blame them for being in it. But I see no sign higher education as a sector has any real interest in that."  

Here Newfield calls for that to change and tasks senior college officials with working to restore the bankruptcy option...lest Marley's fate await them... 

As Scrooge leaves his counting-house on Christmas Eve, he encounters his cheerful nephew, who tells his Uncle Scrooge that Christmas is one of those "many things from which I might have derived good, [but] by which I have not profited, I dare say."   The good, the nephew continues, is to have the one moment in the year in which "men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."

Scrooge dismisses this feeling and, with a final dig at his long-suffering clerk, leaves his office, only to be confronted by two amiable gentlemen who are soliciting "some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time."

Scrooge asks them, "are there no prisons?" 

#ForProfit #Highered @VillageVoice

"Only a Con Man Could Love, Barbarians in the Ivory Tower" by Cris Parker (not at the gates but all the way inside and, having paid off the watchmen, sacking the premises).

For-profit colleges haven't always been scrupulous when it comes to raiding the federal treasury. Between student-aid and GI Bill programs, most schools receive 90 percent of their revenue from the American taxpayer. And the recruiters—often little more than salesmen paid largely by how many people they enroll—are driven mercilessly to keep those cash registers ringing. 

Students don't get much in return. Although tuition rates can run as high as those at America's most esteemed universities, the education is generally substandard. In the end, most kids wind up walking away with a questionable degree bought at top dollar—and a mountain of debt to accompany it.

Great title, fab graphic but that's just the start. Read the rest of the Voice's extensive and detailed article on For-Profit Colleges Only a Con Man Could Love

#adjuncts & #studentloandebt

…the movies, not just one. DIY this time, not BYOP. Unfortunately, there is still not much public awareness of student debt among NTT faculty. See for yourself: search  YouTube for "student debt crisis." Then add "adjunct" or "faculty" and search. Here's a chance to fill the information gap. Robert Applebaum, founder of million+ member grassroots student loan debt forgiveness movement challenges student loan debtors to create and submit videos. He writes,

ForgiveStudentLoanDebt is re-branding as "Student Debt Crisis" to reflect the fact that the reforms we seek are not limited to just forgiveness of loans, but a whole host of other steps that chip away at the status quo. 

I'm writing today to ask each of you to participate in our very first video submission challenge: create your own short video that we can use to spread our message in favor of fundamental reforms to the way in which higher education is paid for in this country.

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

About doubling student loan interest rates

New Faculty Majority board member Ross Borden reminded us recently about the July 1 deadline for setting Stafford loan rates. Unless Congress acts before July 1, the fixed rate for all new subsidized Stafford loans will be doubled, from 3.4% to 6.8%. The House has already voted to keep the present rate, but by cutting funds to implement the Affordable Care Act. The Senate is divided between Republic and Democratic plans.

Student loan debt is not just a student issue but an adjunct / contingent faculty issue as well. NFM is discussing an official letter writing or fax campaign, perhaps coordinated with other higher education advocacy groups or another campaign for maximum effect.

In the meantime, we can each take action as individuals and urge others to join us.

• Join "tweetout" using the hashtag #dontdoublemyrate. Send and RT messages, petitions, updates, links. Tag your Senators, relevant committee members and @whitehouse so they get copies. Check here for an idea of tweet volume to date. Student associations are also participating.

• Sign Progressive Secretary letter, "Tell Washington to Keep Low Student Loan Interest Rates"

This letter supports the more than 130,000 students who delivered letters to Congressional leaders asking them to stop student loan interest rates from doubling from 3.4 to 6.8 percent. The letter will be sent to the Senate and to the President.

• Sign Change.org petition, "Tell Congress: Act before July 1st, don't let student loan interest rates double."

I'll be adding more to the list between now and July 1 ~ send me yours to include ~ and I'll keep you updated on our campaign too. 

AFT Action Alert: Bank on Students

Money for banks or to invest in students and institutions? Which is the better investment? Reblogged from AFT / FACE Talk, Thursday, 11 March 2010

Call NOW! 866/327-8670  Tell your senators:  include student loan reform  in reconciliation bill Stop. Go to your phone and contact your Senator right this minute.  Why? Because right now, the Senate is in a serious debate, the outcome of which could jeopardize the fate of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act.  Republican Senators and key Democratic Senators are opposing the inclusion of SAFRA in the reconciliation process.  But as Rep. George Miller stated today, the choice is clear:

a student loan debt campaign

Cryn Johannsen, who blogs about student loan debt at Educated Matters, writes asking everyone to repost the this video clip clip about the student lending crisis. Get the word out: blog, tweet, forward, post on websites, email to groups.



Cryn also maintains a Facebook Support Group for the Indentured Educated Class (USA)

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

A guest post by Jen Bills, New Faculty Majority board member: Here's some information to disseminate to our members, other academic labor organizations, and individual adjuncts. Many adjuncts are likely to be eligible for:

Public Service Loan Forgiveness, a new program for federal student loan borrowers who work in certain kinds of jobs. It will forgive remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments. (During those 10 years, the Income-Based Repayment (IBR) plan can help keep your loan payments affordable.)

Who can get Public Service Loan Forgiveness? This program is for people with federal student loans who work in a wide range of "public service" jobs, including jobs in government and nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations.

What are eligible jobs? In most cases, eligibility is based on whether you work for an eligible employer. Your job is eligible if you:

• are employed by any nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization;
• are employed by the federal government, a state government, local government, or tribal government (this includes the military and public schools and colleges); or
• serve in a full-time AmeriCorps or Peace Corps position.

If you don't meet these criteria, the Department of Education's regulations create a two-part test of other circumstances under which you may still be eligible:

(1) your employer is not "a business organized for profit, a labor union, a partisan political organization, or an organization engaged in religious activities, unless the qualifying activities are unrelated to religious instruction, worship services, or any form of proselytizing;"

and,

(2) your employer provides any of the following public services: emergency management; military service; public safety; law enforcement; public interest law services; early childhood education; public service forindividuals with disabilities and the elderly; public health; public education;public library services; and school library or other school-based services.

These definitions of eligible jobs reflect the Department of Education's final regulations for PSLF, as posted in the Federal Register on October 23, 2008.

What kinds of loans does it cover?  It covers federal Stafford, Grad PLUS, or consolidation loans as long as they are in the Direct Loan program. Borrowers with loans in the Guaranteed (or FFEL) loan program must switch to the Direct Loan program to get this benefit.

When does the 10-year clock start, and which payments count? Only payments made after October 1, 2007 count towards the 10 years (120 monthly payments, not necessarily consecutive) required for Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Qualifying payments are payments made through the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program in any of the following three repayment plans: the Income Contingent Repayment plan, the Standard (10-year) Repayment plan, and the Income-Based Repayment plan.

To count, these payments must be made while you're working full-time in an eligible job. "Full-time," according to the final regulations issued by the Department of Education, means an annual average of 30 hours per week or the standard for full-time used by the employer, whichever is greater. For people working part-time at two or more qualifying jobs, "full-time" means an annual average of 30 hours across all jobs held. In professions such as teaching, annual contracts that include at least eight months of full-time work will be treated as the equivalent of a full year's employment. If you meet all the criteria, the earliest your remaining debt could be forgiven is October 2017.

What if I've already paid off my loans by then? This loan forgiveness program will only benefit people who still owe money on their federal loans after 10 years of eligible payments and employment. If your income is low relative to your debt, and you qualify for reduced payments under IBR (or Income Contingent Repayment) at any time during those 10 years, you will likely have debt left to forgive. (Learn more about IBR.)

Find out more about how to qualify for Public Service Loan Forgiveness