August 7, 2026

Newsletter overview

Keep scrolling to read about these important topics:

  • Know your contract: Changes in adjunct faculty status

  • Have you checked your Fall enrollment numbers?

  • Broken bones hurt. Copays shouldn’t

  • Upcoming events and important dates

CHANGES IN ADJUNCT FACULTY STATUS

Our contract applies to adjuncts who are members of the bargaining unit. To be a member of the bargaining unit, an adjunct must provide either 40 contact hours in an academic year (September 1 to August 31) or provide 75 contact hours of individual instruction or tutoring in one semester within an academic year.

Article I of the contract defines the conditions of membership. It also lists positions that are excluded from membership in the unit, including full-time faculty, graduate student employees who have not completed seven years of study in a Ph.D program at NYU, and managerial employees.

The line of demarcation between included and excluded has caused problems for adjuncts who were offered short term, full-time positions by the University. 

One problem pertains to health insurance. If you are an adjunct who takes a full-time position, understand that the change of your status can have implications on your health insurance coverage. Acquiring health insurance as a full-time employee during a year of full-time employment does not imply a continuation in health insurance coverage when one returns to adjunct status.

A second problem pertains to reappointment right status. If you are an adjunct who has been teaching for at least four years, then, under Article X, Section C of our contract, you might be eligible to take an “unpaid leave” during the year that you are full time. In that case, you would retain reappointment rights should you return to adjunct employment. However, in other cases, if (a) you are not eligible for an official unpaid leave or (b) you accept a multi-year full time position (e.g., a postdoc), then reappointment rights would be lost as a result of your change in status.

In short, if you receive an offer for a position other than an adjunct position, contact the union so we can help explain the implications of accepting the offer.

Have you checked your fall enrollment numbers?

As Fall 2026 registration continues, we are asking adjunct faculty to keep an eye on, and preserve a record of, the enrollment in their assigned courses.

If a course listed on your Albert faculty page has not yet reached 50% of its enrollment cap, please take a screenshot showing the course, its current enrollment and its enrollment cap. You can find a simple guide on how to take a screenshot of your Albert here.

Please continue to check Albert periodically and save dated screenshots so that there is a clear record of how enrollment changes over time.

Important: The fact that your course is currently below 50% capacity does not mean that it will be cancelled. We are asking you to preserve this information so that, if a cancellation does occur, the union can better understand when the decision was made, how much opportunity the course was given to enroll and whether there may be grounds for further action.

Please keep these screenshots in a safe place. If your course is cancelled, or if you receive any communication from your department expressing concern about its enrollment, please contact us at nyu@actuaw.org and share the relevant screenshots and any correspondence with your department.

Broken bones hurt.
copays shouldn’t.

Members who qualify for NYU health insurance – a union-won benefit – can leverage the copay waiver program. It allows members to see many Langone providers without additional costs.

Processing issues began in January 2026. The benefit remains unchanged. However, access for some may be delayed.

If you’ve met the program’s requirements and have paid or are asked for a copay, contact NYU Benefits and Aetna (1-833-520-0184).

Please note:

1. If you’ve paid in 2026, ask for a refund.

2. MyChart may fail to recognize your copay waiver status.  

3. MyChart may omit eligible Langone providers, resulting in erroneous fees on your Aetna summary. 

Please let us know if there are other issues with the copay waiver program.

Upcoming events