Connecticut announces $17M in debt forgiveness for community college students enrolled during COVID-19 pandemic
The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system on Tuesday announced it is wiping the slate clean for more than 18,000 community college students who took on debt or couldn’t repay debt because of the coronavirus pandemic.
CSCU will forgive a total of $17 million in account balances from enrollments in the summer 2019 through spring 2021 semesters, President Terrance Cheng said. The state system is covering the cost with money from the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund.
“Community college students have been hit especially hard by COVID-19,” Cheng said. “By eliminating the debt those students owe to institutions, we are removing a hurdle that prevents far too many people from continuing their educational journeys.”
About 18,161 current and former students are benefiting from the debt relief. CSCU has also removed the holds that prevented those students from registering for classes, though the system said there are no conditions attached and students are not required to enroll in future classes.
Jane Gates, CSCU’s provost and senior vice president of academic and student affairs, said the system’s action would bring peace of mind and educational opportunity to many community college students, who were hit particularly hard by the economic consequences of the pandemic.
“They lost jobs, suffered food insecurity and lacked access to vital services — to say nothing of the devastating harm caused to those afflicted with the virus,” Gates said. “It is no wonder that so many students saw the debt they owed to our colleges pile up.”
David Levinson, interim president of Connecticut State Community College, said the debt relief could be a game-changer for students who have yet to complete their academic programs.
“We are doing everything we can to remove barriers to attendance and completion, and the forgiveness of debt is the single most important step toward giving our students — many of whom suffered pandemic-driven financial problems beyond their control — the chance to enroll in classes for the fall semester,” Levinson said.
CSCU has also distributed more than $56 million in direct payments to students across the system, using federal stimulus funding, since 2020. The system said it would announce additional student support in coming weeks.
Rebecca Lurye can be reached at rlurye@courant.com.
