Dive Brief:

• The IRS has issued final rules on how colleges should calculate adjuncts' workloads to determine eligibility for health benefits.
• The agency says that one reasonable method for colleges to use is that for every hour adjuncts spend teaching, they work another 75 minutes outside the classroom.
• The rules matter because some colleges were cutting hours for adjuncts in order to get them under the 30-hour line for employer-provided benefits.

Dive Insight:

The rules are not the last word. The IRS may issue more guidance, the guidelines don't rule out other "reasonable" methods of determining hours, and, as with all rules, they are subject to interpretation. An official with the American Association of Community Colleges said that his group was generally pleased with the regulations and that they are not likely to cause widespread changes in how community colleges employ adjuncts.