Soon, many people will be getting an unexpected yet pleasant surprise from Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC).
The college recently announced that it will be paying off debts of students with delinquent accounts that arose during COVID. Anyone with a GPA of 2.0 or greater who has an outstanding debt to PHCC that arose on or after March 13, 2020 will be receiving letters from PHCC soon announcing that their debt has been paid.
To cover the costs of these debts, PHCC is using some of the funds that it received from the federal government meant to cover revenue loss due to COVID. Between the debt forgiveness and additional student stipends, PHCC is paying forward over $1.4 million of these funds directly to help its students.
“Student success is what we do at PHCC. And, when we saw that we could use our stimulus to help our students, it was not a question. That’s what we were going to do. By paying down their debts, we break down a barrier. With debt is no longer a deterrent, they can take advantage of the many, many opportunities that are available now to come to PHCC at no cost,” said PHCC’s President Dr. Angeline Godwin.
When a student is unable to pay tuition and owes the college money, Virginia state policy mandates they cannot register for more classes. As such, debts can waylay a students’ academic progress even if they qualify for scholarships or grants that could cover the cost of their tuition moving forward. With so many funding options becoming available this year that will completely cover the cost of tuition, PHCC’s administration did not want a delinquent account to prevent anyone from pursuing their educational goals.
To see the list of funding opportunities that can fully cover tuition, go to the “Get College Funded” button in the top right corner of the college’s homepage: www.patrickhenry.edu. Registration for summer and fall semesters is going on now. To schedule an appointment with an advisor, go to www.patrickhenry.edu/register.
