Portland State University is a qualifying employer for public service loan forgiveness. Employees who have Federal Direct Loans and have made 120 payments on the Federal Direct Loans (after Oct. 1, 2007) may be eligible for the remaining loan balance to be forgiven. Only payments made under certain repayment plans may be counted toward the required 120 payments, and loans must not be in default to be forgiven.
The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program is administered by the Federal Student Aid office of the U.S. Department of Education.
PSU Human Resources Office will complete a section of the Employment Certification form to certify their employment with the university. Steps to apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness:
For additional information on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, see the Federal Student Aid Website.
Changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program could qualify past payments that were previously not eligible. In February 2022 SB 1572 passed. These changes affect PSUFA members only.
- Any term in which you worked 7 or more credits, payments made toward your federal student loans are now considered qualifying payments for PSLF. Importantly, this applies retroactively back to 2007, and each month that your loans were in pandemic forbearance can also be counted toward forgiveness.
- Full-time status can also be achieved by piecing together part-time employment from multiple qualifying employers.
- Full-time is an average of 30-hours a week
For example, 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 need a total of 120 qualifying payments to achieve loan forgiveness. We believe it is worth certifying now to see how much progress you have made towards loan forgiveness.
Resources:
Steps to apply for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
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.
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.
- 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 Form for your employment type.
- You will need to have your PSU ID number for this upload process.
- You will receive a confirmation email upon submission.
- Part-time faculty only: If you work for other qualifying employers during the time you also worked for PSU, reply to PSU’s HR upload confirmation email with the names of your other qualifying employers.
- After HR completes your PSLF form you will receive an email stating the document was processed and a copy of the signed form will be attached to that email.