Polk State College cancels $1.2 million in student debt using federal COVID relief money

LAKELAND — Polk State College is giving some of its students an extra reason to be thankful in the week after Thanksgiving.

The college announced Friday that it is erasing $1.2 million in debt that students accrued during the COVID-19 pandemic. The debt forgiveness applies to students who were enrolled between March 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021.

Polk State has also canceled any student debts incurred during that period that had been sent to collections, spokeswoman Madison Fantozzi said. The college is using federal pandemic relief funds to cover the cost of eliminating the student debt.

Polk State received nearly $18 million through Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds allocated in the CARES Act and a supplemental measure, both signed into law last year by former President Donald Trump, and the American Rescue Plan, signed into law in March by President Joe Biden.

Students eligible for the debt forgiveness need not take any action, Fantozzi said. Polk State is notifying students through their Passport accounts that the debt has been canceled.

More from Polk State: Polk State to hold graduation Dec. 9

Inspiring: 'I finally did it': Florida Southern student Jenson Van Emburgh wins bronze at the Paralympics

Polk State is paying off the debt that it is owed, Fantozzi said, and will close the student accounts that had been forwarded to collections agencies.

The two federal measures signed by Trump allotted nearly $112 billion for education relief, with a certain portion of the funding designated for student aid. The American Rescue Plan provided another $39.6 billion to institutions of higher education to offset losses caused by the pandemic.

Polk State has invested about $7.3 million of the nearly $18 million in federal relief money it received, Fantozzi said. More than 4,000 students have received assistance.

“Polk State College recognizes that student debt is a barrier to advancement and has added to student and family burdens during the pandemic,” Polk State College President Angela Garcia Falconetti said in a written statement. “The College is in the business of eliminating obstacles and opening pathways to improved quality of life. We view this as one more way to help students and our community move forward.”

Polk State has also paid for students’ tuition and fees for the fall 2021, spring 2022 and summer 2022 semesters, Fantozzi said.

Polk State’s Lakeland campus was largely empty at midday on Friday. The Ledger could find no students who had benefited from the decision to cancel debt.

Also: Polk State College offers pre-paid scholarships for Legoland employees

More: Polk State College receives $50K for Metallica Scholars Initiative to support technical careers

The Ledger asked the Florida Department of Education if any other state colleges have used federal relief funds to eliminate student debt. The communications office had not been able to determine that by The Ledger’s print deadline Friday afternoon.

In Polk County, other colleges and universities have taken different approaches in dispersing federal relief money to students. Florida Southern College received about $6.3 million in federal funds, with $3.1 million designated for emergency student aid.

Florida Southern awarded a total of $21,300 in July to 71 students who were Pell Grant recipients, FSC spokeswoman Kelly Semrau said. In September, the college informed all current undergraduate students that they might qualify for federal relief money.

In October, Florida Southern awarded more than $3 million to nearly 1,600 students deemed as having exceptional need, Semrau said. Students who are Pell Grant recipients or had expected family contributions of less than $35,000 fit that criteria.

Now hiring: Polk County job growth at all-time high as job fairs, hiring abound

Also: Florida Polytechnic University to host Fulbright scholars from Spain

Florida Southern has given qualifying students checks, Semrau said, and allowed them to use the money on any financial needs they faced, such as rent, tuition or debt.

Southeastern University has also provided direct payments to students, spokeswoman Dana Davis said. Southeastern has received $28.7 million through the three rounds of federal relief funding, with $12.9 million designated for student assistance.

Following federal guidelines, the university focused on students with exceptional need or hardship, the school reported. Southeastern distributed funds through room and board assistance and through direct checks to students to spend according to their needs, the school reported.

Florida Polytechnic University has accepted about $2.9 million in COVID relief funds, according to its quarterly report from September. The school has distributed more than $1.5 million of that to students.

That assistance took the form of “emergency financial aid grants,” the report said.

Founded in 1964 as Polk Junior College, Polk State enrolls more than 20,000 students at campuses in Winter Haven, Lakeland, Bartow and Lake Wales. The college has no student housing.

Polk State offers bachelor’s degrees as well as the traditional associate of art and science degrees.

Polk State is exploring other options for using the federal relief funds to alleviate students’ financial burdens, Fantozzi said.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Polk State uses federal money to cancel student debt incurred during pandemic