Program aims to erase CUNY student debt
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Queens College is one of five CUNYs in Queens whose students will receive debt relief for balances accrued during the pandemic. Photo via CUNY
By Jacob Kaye
CUNY students in need of financial assistance will soon get some much needed relief through a new financial aid program, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week.
The CUNY Comeback Program will allocate $125 million dollars toward eliminating unpaid debt accrued during the pandemic for an estimated 50,000 CUNY students, according to the governor.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has caused hardships in the lives of so many New Yorkers, and our students were among those most impacted,” Cuomo said in a statement. “This landmark new program eliminates millions of dollars in unpaid debt, providing much-needed relief to tens of thousands of CUNY students as they work to get back on their feet after the pandemic and plan for their futures.”
The average debt balance among CUNY students is around $2,000, according to the school system, which has five colleges in Queens.
A recent report from the Center for an Urban Future found that a majority of students who attend one of CUNY’s seven community colleges live in a household earning less than $30,000 a year. Often, those students are only one financial emergency away from being forced to drop out, the report said.
The one-time payment, which is being paid for with federal aid dollars, will erase debt accrued by students enrolled in CUNY schools from March 13, 2020 through the Spring 2021 semester. The debt forgiveness will also apply to students who graduated during that time and most balances will be cleared without an application process, according to CUNY.
Frank Wu, the president of Queens College, said the CUNY Comeback Program was “superb news.”
“The borough of Queens suffered enormously as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic — indeed, it was the hardest hit borough in the city,” Wu said in a statement to the Eagle. “It will make a positive and enduring difference for alumni and students who are diligently working to build their futures as we emerge from these challenging times.”
The economic hardship felt by CUNY students was apparent, according to Richard David, an adjunct professor at York College.
“I think almost all of them are working students, so they worked during the pandemic, they continue to work and some of them have children,” David said. “During the pandemic, it was very hard for them to make ends meet and it was even hard for them to show up to class regularly.”
David said that the program will make a “huge difference” in the lives of his students who need it.
“I think this kind of relief, assuming they qualify, is going to allow them to continue their schooling and hopefully finish their degrees and maybe, that improves their economic outlook,” David said.
Eligible students include those who qualify for Pell Grants and are determined to have experienced financial hardship, those who graduated any time after March 13, 2020 and owe any outstanding balance from Spring 2020 through Spring 2021, or those who have an outstanding balance of $100 or less per semester for any of the 2020 or 2021 semesters.
