NY S08888

Establishes a New York state dental faculty loan forgiveness incentive program to increase the number of educators and adjunct clinical faculty in dental education by granting student loan forgiveness awards on a competitive basis.

Eligible applicants must be licensed dentists with prior clinical experience, have completed coursework qualifying them as dental faculty or adjunct clinical faculty, hold outstanding student loan debt from a dental degree program, and be employed as faculty at a dental school in New York state.

Awards of $40,000 shall be made annually to recipients who provide at least 12 academic credit hours or equivalent of classroom or clinical instruction, with a lifetime cap of $160,000 per recipient.

Loan forgiveness awards may be granted for up to four years based on available funds and cannot exceed the total cost of the recipient's student loan debt.

The president shall contract with an association representing New York state academic dental centers without competitive bidding to develop a uniform curriculum on academic dentistry serving as the basis for required coursework.