LANSING, Mich. — Lansing Community College will forgive student debt from fall 2017 through spring 2021 as part of a one-time program called LCC Fresh Start.
"The amount of money we're talking about for this time-period is approximately $2 million," LCC President Steven Robinson said. "There are about 3,800 students impacted."
LCC is using federal money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan.
"Really, this pandemic has been incredibly disruptive for our students and their families. Two-year college enrollment is down across the country because families are challenged with the bandwidth to be able to, you know," Robinson said. "It's hard to go to school."
The goal is to encourage students who started attending classes at LCC to continue.
"Somebody like myself with a newborn, and I also have a 4-year-old, it's just really good to know that we can get a break," said Ronald "Patrick" Rogers
Rogers, 32, started at LCC in 2017 and will get his degree at the end of this summer.
"When I first went to school, I was 17-years-old. I went to Eastern Michigan. It didn't really work out...and I kind of thought school wasn't for me. So going back later on, at like 30 with kids, LCC just provided nothing but the best resources and any kind of help I could ask for," Rogers said.
Rogers studied photography at LCC and now plans to open a studio downtown. With his college debts about to be forgiven, he is also considering signing up for a bridge program to go to MSU.
"Our team has no way of forecasting what impact it will have, but we know that eliminating barriers for students who couldn't otherwise register, will certainly have a positive impact on enrollment...but it also helps the community at large, because as you know, most employers are just hurting for employees, there's a shortage of skilled workers," Robinson said.
The debts will be considered forgiven on Monday and the balances will be cleared automatically by the end of September. This will include recalling eligible accounts from the collection.
If you believe you are eligible and do not see your balance cleared by Oct. 1, Robinson encourages you to contact the college.
Fall registration at LCC is open now, with both face-to-face and online options available.
Students who think they might receive account forgiveness, click here.
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