The historically black institution, Morehouse College, has orchestrated a new fundraising program that will assist its graduate students with their student loan debt. This will allow Morehouse students to progress in their careers, education and financial status without the hindrance of their student loan debt after commencement.
What We Know:
- The Morehouse College Student Success Program will be funded based on donations in the form of a fundraiser process. The donations will diminish the debt of alumni or clear their debt balance completely.
- The Board of Trustees founded the program in order to allow students to advance rapidly in their lives, following their graduation from the HBCU. They also intend for the program to give financial Independence to many black families living in poverty.
- The program will strictly be available to Morehouse Men and will be monitored as a research study in order to collect data that reflects the career experience of alumni when they’re able to live student loan debt free or with lesser debt.
- According to UNCF research, “Students who attend historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) borrow student loans at higher rates and, consequently, graduate with substantially higher debt than their peers at non-HBCUs—even though HBCUs cost less—but federal policy changes could help HBCU students lighten their debt load.”
- Morehouse hopes that the students who are able to benefit from the Student Success Program will pay it forward by helping future graduates.
- The news of the Morehouse debt free plan was released just months after billionaire Robert F. Smith, paid off the entire class of 2019 student loans, which totaled an estimated $40 million.
Hopefully other HBCUs will lean towards helping their graduate students with their student loan debt in order to contribute to their future growth. If the program turns out to be successful this could spark a movement at other colleges.
