The state university system in Connecticut said it will forgive about $17 million worth of student debt that students took on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officials in the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system say about 18,000 community college students will have their debt forgiven. There are no conditions attached, and students don’t have to enroll in any future classes.
Terrence Cheng is the president of the state university system. He said community college students especially needed debt relief.
“It borders on a national crisis level," Cheng said. "The data that we have seen since the pandemic has shown that constituents that pursue community college degrees have been drastically, severely affected in a way that traditional college students — who have also suffered — community college students have suffered worse.”
At least half a dozen state and private universities have forgiven student loan debt in recent months because of the pandemic — including South Carolina State University earlier this week.
