Itta Bena, Miss – Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) has announced plans to offer students financial assistance by forgiving debt for students with balances enrolled from Fall 2021 until Spring 2023.
The announcement comes as the University works diligently to ensure students have financial relief. The funding allows the University to bring balances for students enrolled at any point on or after March 13, 2020, to zero. The program will assist students who did not receive funds during the first round of balance forgiveness in August 2021. Those students whose balances were cleared during the first round of balance forgiveness will not be eligible for these funds.
"We want to assure that our students know that they and their education is a top priority," said MVSU President Jerry Briggs, Sr. By using the funds available to us from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, the University is supporting students in their current situations in pursuit of their academic goals," he added.
With the clearance of balances, students will be able to have financial holds removed from their accounts and have the opportunity to register for the Fall 2023 semester at MVSU. However, students are not expected or required to enroll in a future semester to benefit from the cleared balance.
In addition, the program will allow students enrolled from Fall 2021 until Spring 2023 with an unpaid balance to the University to obtain an official transcript. Therefore, students with a completed degree can enroll in graduate school or obtain employment. Moreover, students who need to transfer their credits can now access their official transcripts.
This initiative will clear balances owed in tuition, fees, and fines. The debt to be forgiven is expected to total over $2.3 million.
This marks the second time the University has offered its students a fresh start by forgiving debt for students with semester balances. The last program was in August 2021. The amount of forgiven debt totaled over $1.5 million.