斯佩尔曼学院宣布，它将使用联邦资金来清理过去一学年的未清学费余额，以解决新冠肺炎大流行期间学生的经济困难。
位于佐治亚州亚特兰大的历史悠久的黑人学院也将在2021-2022学年提供一次性14%的学费折扣，并将强制收费回滚到2017-2018学年的水平。
Spelman总裁、博士玛丽·施密特·坎贝尔(Mary Schmidt Campbell)周二在一份声明中表示:“这种重新设定为四年前较低的学费水平，将对负担能力产生长期影响。
斯皮尔曼学院的财政减免是在亚特兰大的一所邻近的哈佛商学院克拉克亚特兰大大学宣布将取消2020年春季和2021年夏季学期的未清学费余额之后。
“我们知道，由于新冠肺炎大流行，过去的两个学年对学生及其家庭来说在情感和经济上都很困难。这就是为什么我们将继续尽我们所能支持他们努力完成他们的CAU教育，”克拉克亚特兰大大学校长乔治·t·弗伦奇博士在上周五的一份声明中说。
对克拉克亚特兰大大学21岁的大三学生塔拉尔·斯科特(Ta'Lar Scott)来说，取消500美元的学费余额是她休学一个学期后完成社会工作本科学位所需的新开始。
像成千上万哈佛商学院的学生一样，斯科特依靠联邦拨款和学生贷款来支付她的大学教育费用。渴望成为一名教师，现在又是一名准妈妈，除了重新入学之外，支付学费是如此令人生畏，她考虑不参加秋季学期。
斯科特在接受美国广播公司新闻采访时表示:“我本打算休这个学期的假，这真的是因为我知道我有一个平衡。“大学清理了我的平衡，这让我知道我可以做到。我会没事的。不管怎样，我必须学会如何调整，这是我一生都在做的事情。”
哈佛商学院通过《关爱法案》高等教育紧急救济基金获得了约26亿美元，这是作为《高等教育法案》的一部分为高等教育拨出的400亿美元拨款美国救援计划。
克拉克亚特兰大大学和斯佩尔曼学院是最近几个月使用联邦资金为学生提供财政救济和紧急资金的20多个哈佛商学院中的最新一个。南卡罗来纳州立大学、特拉华州立大学和威尔伯福斯大学使用联邦COVID减免美元取消符合条件的学生的学生贷款债务。
Spelman College is latest HBCU to cancel tuition balances
Spelman College announced it will use federal funding to clear outstanding tuition balances for the past academic year of to address the financial hardships of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The historically Black college based in Atlanta, Georgia, will also offer a one-time 14% discount on tuition for the 2021-2022 academic school year and rollback mandatory fees to the 2017-2018 rate.
"This reset to the lower tuition rates of four years ago will have a long-term impact on affordability," said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Ph.D., president of Spelman, in a statement Tuesday.
The Spelman College financial relief comes after Clark Atlanta University, a neighboring HBCU in Atlanta, announced it would cancel outstanding tuition balances for the spring 2020 and summer 2021 semesters.
"We understand these past two academic years have been emotionally and financially difficult on students and their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why we will continue to do all we can to support their efforts to complete their CAU education," Dr. George T. French, President of Clark Atlanta University, said in a statement last Friday.
For Ta'Lar Scott, a 21-year-old junior at Clark Atlanta University, having her $500 tuition balance canceled was the fresh start she needed to re-enroll to finish her undergraduate degree in social work after taking a semester off.
Like thousands of HBCU students, Scott has relied on federal grants and student loans to pay for her college education. With aspirations of becoming a teacher and now as an expectant mother, paying for school expenses in addition to re-enrollment was so daunting she considered not attending the fall semester.
"I was going to take this semester off and it was really because I knew I had a balance," Scott told ABC News. "The university clearing my balance up kind of pushed me and let me know that I can do this. I'll be fine. Regardless, I'll have to learn how to adjust, which I've been doing all my life."
HBCUs received approximately $2.6 billion through the CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, a $40 billion funding allocation set aside for higher education as part of theAmerican Rescue Plan.
Clark Atlanta University and Spelman College are the latest of over 20 HBCUs using federal funding to provide financial relief and emergency funds for students in recent months. South Carolina State University, Delaware State University and Wilberforce University used federal COVID relief dollars to cancel student loan debt for eligible students.
