Photo Courtesy of Hampton University/ Instagram
Virginia-based HBCU Hampton University is set to erase all their students’ balances for the spring 2022 semester.
Hampton’s president, Dr. William R. Harvey, made the announcement via an official statement on its official website.
“On behalf of the university, I am pleased to announce that all outstanding balances for the spring 2022 semester will be erased,” Dr. Harvey said in the statement released on Apr. 7. “We hope that this action will continue to assist our students and their families at our Home by the Sea.”
He also said that the HBCU would not be increasing tuition for the 2022-2023 academic year.
“In keeping with the university’s efforts to help our students, there will be no increase in tuition, fees, room and board for the 2022-2023 academic year.”
In addition, the school has issued $200.00 book scholarships to students enrolled in Hampton for the Spring 2022 semester.
Dr. Harvey made a similar promise to the university’s students in 2021, as he stated that the school would pay its undergraduate students’ outstanding balances with funds from the Federal Relief Act. Another statement released by Hampton on Aug. 5, 2021, indicated that the balances were paid “as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“It is our hope that these funds will assist our students in continuing their Hampton experience and enjoying a seamless transition back to campus,” said the university official. “All of us have been through a horrendous experience over the last year and a half as we adjusted to living in the midst of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the entire pandemic, Hampton University has remained steadfast in making decisions based on what we believed to be in the best interest of our students, faculty, and staff.”
Each student with a loan in the graduating class of 2020 and 2021 was even given $500 to repay their debt. Students who didn’t have loans were reimbursed for their $150 graduation fee.
Hampton University was founded in 1868 by American civil war soldier Samuel C. Armstrong, with the goal of educating newly emancipated African Americans during the time. Notable alumni of the private four-year school include prominent educator Booker T. Washington, Power 105.1 The Breakfast Club‘s DJ Envy, and famous comedian Wanda Sykes, among many others.