Florida school to spend $16M to pay off student debt

Florida A&M University, a historically Black university in Florida, is spending $16 million to pay off a portion of their students’ debt for the past 2020-2021 school year, the Tallahassee Democrat reported.

The money is coming in part from the COVID-19 relief bill passed by Congress and signed by former President Trump last year.

Florida A&M’s president, Larry Robinson, made the announcement during the end of the commencement ceremonies for graduates on Saturday, sharing that this is a part of their motto of “Excellence with Caring,” which supports students in their future endeavors. 

“For the past year and a half, the university has provided over $16 million in student support and debt relief as a result of the federal CARES Act,” Robinson said in his speech.

“Some of you will be leaving us with a whole lot of debt that some of your predecessors and I want you to understand how much, how important that is to us, allowing you to go out into the world, and get off to a much better start than you might otherwise, and for those of you who are staying with us, that’s going to be a tremendous opportunity for you as well.”

The American Rescue Plan provided nearly $40 billion for higher education relief with $2 billion going to Florida-based universities, according to the Tallahassee newspaper. 

Florida A&M’s decision follows moves by other historically Black colleges and universities, including Virginia State University, Delaware State and South Carolina State, to cancel student debt.

Clark Atlanta University President George T. French Jr. shared in July that his university has cleared all debt of students in the past five semesters. The school said it also used funding from the CARES Act to do so.

Through unprecedented federal funding via the CARES Act & the Higher Education Relief Fund, Clark Atlanta University clears student account balances for Spring 2020, Summer 2020, Fall 2020, Spring 2021, & Summer 2021 academic terms.

Read @PrezGTFrench’s letter to #CAU students. https://t.co/VW0jqaRoUT pic.twitter.com/4atUxQ5esd

— Clark Atlanta Univ. (@CAU) July 25, 2021