Texas Southern clears outstanding debt for students

(Defendernetwork.com) — The administration of Texas Southern University announced the balances owed to the university were forgiven for more than 2,000 students.

More than 900 students who had begun registering for the fall 2023 semester are now able to continue their matriculation without financial holds. The University discharged outstanding balances for an additional 879, thus removing any financial barriers to their registration for the fall semester.

The student debt was canceled due to funding remaining from the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds. The total investment into students was $2.3 million.

“For many students from traditionally underrepresented groups, one of the major reasons they don’t progress in their educational journey is finances,” said TSU Provost Dr. Carl Goodman.

“This administrative action means a lot, especially for those students who were in their freshman, sophomore or junior year of study. Too often, if the students are living on campus, they must incur loans. The balance correction affords our students the opportunity to continue with their education and hopefully remain on track to graduate in four years.

This dispensation applied to students with outstanding balances for the fall 2022, spring 2023, and summer 2023 semesters.

In addition to current students whose balances were discharged, more than 200 completed coursework during the past academic year. Eliminating their balances allows them to now receive their diplomas and official transcripts.

This article originally published in the September 18, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.