1,000 Lehigh Valley college students just got their tuition debt erased thanks to this program

When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Cindy Haney was hoping for a silver lining.

The vice president of enrollment for Lehigh Carbon Community College said that colleges, and community colleges in particular, sometimes see a surge in enrollments during a recession as workers seek new approaches to employment.

That happened during the Great Recession, she said, when college enrollment was contrary to college expectations and not only remained stable but increased.

This time, however, it didn’t happen. Instead, more than 1,000 students at the 7,000-student Community College in Schnecksville defaulted on tuition fees.

LCCC, like many schools, does not allow students to enroll in the next semester if they are behind on tuition fees. The situation therefore carries an increased risk for the students of interrupting their education or, worse still, of dropping out. It also put the school at risk as tuition and future tuition fees follow dropouts out the door.

“We always want to be here,” said Haney of the LCCC, which ultimately found its silver lining in the form of three federal funding rounds that paid off student debts, warded off enrollment losses and self-financed the facility. “We really have a lot of students with many different backgrounds and for many different reasons. We’re here to make the community a better place. So yes – we have to be absolutely certain that our end result is not in the red. “

The LCCC is one of thousands of colleges in Pennsylvania, New Jersey that is using three rounds of federal pandemic funding nationwide to ease the financial burden on students and the institutions themselves.

Since the pandemic began, about 5,000 colleges have raised $ 148.6 billion in federal funding. Half of the money is intended to be used for student debt relief, the rest can be used for things like virus testing, personal protective equipment, online learning infrastructure, and in some cases, scholarships and scholarships for future semesters.

The earliest federal COVID aid came from the Coronavirus Aid, Recovery, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which earmarked $ 30.75 billion for higher education institutions and students at the start of the pandemic. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) added $ 81.88 billion in December.

In May, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) added another $ 36 billion, of which $ 1.1 billion was earmarked for 107 colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. In New Jersey, 28 schools are set to receive $ 582 million. Full US Department of Education funding figures are available here.

LCCC is one of the recipients. To date, it has spent $ 4.8 million in federal funds to wipe out student debt. It is slated to receive $ 14 million more – including about $ 7 million more for student debt relief – through the American Rescue Plan.

From ARP alone, Lafayette College receives $ 3.5 million, Lehigh University $ 9.2 million, East Stroudsburg University $ 18 million, and Penn State University $ 150 million. ARP funding for schools in New Jersey includes $ 3.8 million for Centenary College and $ 147 million for Rutgers.

Northampton Community College has used $ 6.3 million from its first two rounds of funding to help students pay for their education, said NCC spokeswoman Katherine Noll. The ARP is slated to receive $ 22.5 million more, half for student debt relief.

“Over the past year, NCC put more than $ 6.3 million into the hands of our students who need them most. The support enabled them to deal with the huge impact the pandemic had on their lives and to remain enrolled in college, ”said Knoll.

LCCC recently announced that it had used part of its second round of funding, the CRRSAA, to pay off $ 1.1 million in student debt for 1,065 students. Of these, 253 students had accounts already sent to collections and they received an average of $ 1,186 per person. Another 812 students had their balances settled prior to collection, with an average of $ 940 waived, according to the college.

In total, the school has so far awarded $ 4.8 million to 3,100 students at an average price of $ 1,525 with ARP money to come. It has tapped additional federal funds through its status as a minority service institution.

Haney, the LCCC vice president for enrollment, said it comes at an important time as community college celebrates its 55th anniversary and enrollments decline for each of the last two semesters.

“We really wanted to support the students during this time to make sure they didn’t encounter any obstacles that would lead them to drop out,” Haney said, adding that students are encouraged to seek financial assistance through the school . “We don’t want a student to say that they can’t go back to school or go to school for financial reasons.”

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source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/1000-lehigh-valley-college-students-just-got-their-tuition-debt-erased-thanks-to-this-program/