HBCUs to receive $1.6 billion in debt relief, new funding
As part of pandemic relief the U.S. Department of Education discharged roughly $1.6 billion of HBCU debt. Only institutions participating in the HBCU Capital Financing Program qualify. 45 HBCUs in total will be relieved: 32 private institutions, 13 public. The HBCU Capital Finance Program has provided participants low-cost infrastructure loans since 1994. Shedding that debt is momentous, allowing HBCUs to redirect attention to student education and well-being. The latter is particularly crucial given the emotional toll Covid-19 has taken on isolated, often bereaved young people. Efforts spanned administrations. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA) authorized the discharge of