Oklahoma City Community College announced it cleared the debts of approximately 4,500 students.
The move is part of the college’s Fresh Start Initiative and was worth almost $4 million.
The college announced the debts were accrued by students during the coronavirus pandemic, and the funding comes from federal COVID-19 relief funds.
The goal of wiping out debt is to help students and their families and to get rid of holds on their bursar accounts so they can strive for educational goals that might have been stalled because of financial hardship.
“The pandemic affected our students and their families in various ways, and we recognize that many are still facing hardships in the aftermath,” college President Mautra Staley Jones said. “OCCC is an institution of new beginnings, and this initiative truly gives our students a fresh start. We hope this clears the way for them to continue their educational journey in the fall.”
Colleges across the country — including at Tulsa Community College and Langston University here in Oklahoma — have taken similar steps to help students with COVID relief funds.
