NEW ORLEANS — Dillard University will cover eligible students’ pandemic debt incurred from March 2020. The University was afforded this opportunity through the Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF) supplemental grant. The grant’s total amount exceeds $485,000. Students who have outstanding balances and charges from March 2020 will be cleared, enabling them to register for Fall 2021 classes or graduate within a certain time-period. Students who are awarded this grant but no longer attend Dillard University will have the opportunity to re-enroll at the University to finish their education.
“Financial challenges are but one of the hurdles that students often have to overcome on their path to a college degree. These challenges were heightened as a result of the pandemic as students and their families dealt with economic factors, outside of their control, that impacted their ability to pay for the cost of their college education,” Ralph Johnson, vice president for business and finance said in a statement. “Dillard University believes that by using a portion of institutional funds provided by the CARES/HEERF funding to resolve outstanding balances created from the pandemic, that this will remove this hurdle for many students and allow them to focus on completion of their degrees.”
The HEERF supplemental grant was made possible through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) which are federal funds provided through the American Rescue Act of 2021. Students who have current outstanding balances, (not including Fall 2021 charges), created since the pandemic (March 2020) are eligible for this effort. “I am grateful and I am sure our students are too, that the University decided to use some of the HEERF II funds in this manner. Deciding whether to pay your tuition bill or cover rent or put food on the table was a difficult decision for some of our students/parents. This will go a long way in ensuring students can return to campus and finish what they started,” David Page, vice president of enrollment management shared in a statement. For more information on the HEERF grant please contact caresactrequest@dillard.edu.
