"When Annissa Young, a junior at Trinity Washington University, saw an email from the institution on her phone with the subject line 'Financial planning with a fresh start,' she didn’t think much of it. She thought maybe the private institution in Washington, D.C., was announcing a new scholarship program. She definitely didn’t expect what the message actually said -- that the university would wipe out her debt to the institution," Inside Higher Ed reports. 

..."Karen McCarthy, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, pointed out that the American Rescue Plan was the first round of COVID-19 relief funding that allowed institutions to use funds to relieve student debt, which explains the flurry of debt relief efforts this summer.

'I think it’s wonderful that especially the underresourced institutions are using their institutional funds in this way, because there are a lot of other ways they could spend those … dollars,' she said. 'It’s a great sign of the way that they’re prioritizing students and seeing the impact of the pandemic on their students and understanding that these unpaid balances can be a barrier to re-enrollment for their students.'"

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Articles included under the notable headlines section are not written by NASFAA, but rather by external sources. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

Publication Date: 7/22/2021