Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act Sets 9 Credit Hour Minimum for Loan Forgiveness Eligibility

This bill, the Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act of 2025, is a significant move toward recognizing the often-overlooked workforce in higher education: adjunct and contingent faculty. Essentially, it creates a dedicated path for these non-tenured track instructors to qualify for federal student loan forgiveness, a benefit that has historically been complicated for them to access due to their employment structure.

The Fine Print on Fair Credit

For adjunct faculty, the big change is in how “qualifying teaching service” is defined. The bill explicitly allows the Secretary of Education to define this service, or specifically designates teaching in non-tenured track employment as an adjunct, contingent faculty, teacher, or lecturer at a college, vocational school, or Tribal College or University (Section 2). This is critical because it officially recognizes their work as service that counts toward loan forgiveness, a huge win for instructors juggling multiple jobs while trying to pay down debt.

But here’s where the details matter, because this isn’t a blanket expansion; it comes with specific minimum load requirements. To count your service toward forgiveness, you can’t be working full-time for another employer, and you must meet one of the following teaching loads: at least 9 credit hours every semester, at least 6 credit hours every trimester, or at least 18 credit hours across a calendar year (Section 2, Minimum Teaching Load Requirements). If your school uses a different system, you must teach at least 30 hours per week, calculated using a formula where each credit or contact hour is multiplied by 3.35.

Who Gets the Relief and Who Gets Left Out?

For an adjunct faculty member teaching a standard three-course load (three courses at 3 credits each) every fall and spring, this bill provides a clear path to loan forgiveness. It finally acknowledges their professional service in a tangible way, offering real financial relief to a group notorious for low pay and limited benefits. This is a big deal for those trying to balance the cost of living with the high cost of education.

However, the introduction of these minimum teaching loads creates a new line in the sand. If you’re an adjunct who only teaches one or two courses per semester—maybe you’re a professional working in the industry who teaches a single specialized class, or you’re juggling family responsibilities and can’t commit to three courses—your service won't qualify under these new rules. This is the trade-off: clarity and structure for those who teach a heavy load, but exclusion for those with lighter teaching schedules. Furthermore, while the bill provides a definition, the Secretary still holds the power to define “qualifying teaching service,” which introduces a medium level of vagueness. This discretion means the rules could shift depending on future administrative priorities, something that busy faculty will need to keep an eye on.