HBCUs clear student balances and cancel debt with federal funds

nbc ^ | 08/27/2021

[devane617]

The Covid-19 pandemic has disproportionately impacted the finances of many Black Americans, including student loan borrowers. Black college graduates owe an average of $25,000 more in student loan debt than white college grads, and over 50% of Black borrowers say their net worth is less than what they owe on student loans.

Now, a number of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are stepping in to help alleviate that financial burden. With federal funding and private donations, these schools are wiping out current students’ account balances — including tuition and fees — and giving them a fresh start.

“We’re committing $5 million, assisting nearly 2,000 students with account balances,” said Clark Atlanta University President George T. French Jr. “The impetus, of course, was to help our students — and to make sure from a business, from a financial implication posture to make sure that we reduce our student debt, so that they could matriculate and graduate.”

Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has nearly 4,000 students in total, was one of the first HBCUs in the nation to use federal pandemic relief aid to clear balances for some of its students.

The school is not only cancelling outstanding tuition balances. Also, starting with the 2020 spring term through the current semester, “if you have a dining or a residence hall balance, it will cover that,” French said. “So whatever balances that you have that would restrict you from coming to school, we are removing those restrictions.”

“We are reinventing the college experience,” he said, “so that our students can graduate nearly debt free.”

[newzjunkey]

What I owed was more than my net worth but I paid off my loans. I don’t see using pandemic funds to clear current students debt as being necessarily a bad thing but was that the purpose of the pandemic funding going to the schools?

I am not in favor of canceling student debt and more than I expect my debts to be canceled because I exist.

[newzjunkey]

There are many unnecessarily divisive and racist comments in this thread because HBCU largely serve the Black community. There was a time FR was better than this. Some of the people commenting I thought were better than that. Trump giving multiyear deals to HBCUs instead of making them come with hat in hand yearly was a good thing.

[Mr. Blond]

Suck it, whitey.

[Az Joe]

I identified as a woman the other day when the “One Person” male bathroom was occupied.

Then I switched back.