Congress expands loan forgiveness to adjunct faculty, a precarious workforce.
S. 2485 — Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2025 · Filed by Richard Durbin (D-IL) · 5 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 28, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program to allow adjunct faculty members to qualify for loan forgiveness. Currently, PSLF covers only full-time teachers at certain institutions; this bill adds adjunct and contingent faculty who teach at least 9 credit hours per semester (or equivalent) and are not employed full-time elsewhere, making them eligible for the same forgiveness benefit.
Why we flagged it
The bill expands an existing federal benefit (PSLF) to a previously excluded workforce category (adjunct faculty). It is a straightforward eligibility amendment with no hidden mechanisms or narrow carve-outs.
What the text implies
- Adjuncts must meet a minimum teaching load (9 credit hours/semester or 30 hours/week equivalent) to qualify, which may exclude very part-time adjuncts teaching fewer hours.
- The requirement that adjuncts not be employed full-time elsewhere may create perverse incentives for institutions to keep adjuncts below full-time status to preserve their PSLF eligibility.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
adjunct and contingent faculty members (individual workers); institutions of higher education (reduced pressure to raise adjunct wages if debt relief substitutes