作者：辛西娅·休伯特

2021年12月3日

博彩平台正在利用与COVID-19救援工作相关的联邦资金为数百名学生清理债务，以帮助他们留在学校并获得学位。

自2020年秋季以来，该大学已从高等教育紧急救济基金（HEERF）中向近1400名学生分发了180多万美元，以取消疫情期间累积的未付费用。

萨克拉门托 State has received $105 million in the third round of the federal fund’s distribution, more than $52 million of which will provide direct financial support to students. The other half will fund University operations, including 囊状态’s vaccine clinic and training faculty members to navigate the pivot to online teaching.

最近，该大学加入了全国越来越多的大学的行列，使用HEERF的一些专门用于机构用途的资金来偿还学生债务。 联邦政府已经批准了这种做法。

管理人员说，许多因机构债务而面临经济困难的学生离开了大学，有些人再也没有回来。 The lingering debt, ranging from a few dollars to thousands, ultimately “can affect their credit and hurt them financially,” said Gina Curry, 囊状态’s associate vice president for Financial Services. “We’re taking that debt away, clearing a pathway for them to attend school.”

Unpaid registration fees account for most student debt, according to the University Bursar’s office. 住宿费和书店贷款是学生们欠下的其他债务。

库里指出，免除学生债务是Sac州立大学在困难时期减少学生成功障碍的众多方法之一。 其他努力包括提供笔记本电脑，帮助弥合数字鸿沟，提供紧急拨款，帮助支付食品、医疗保健和其他因疫情而恶化的问题。

Danielle Muñoz, interim director of 囊状态’s CARES office, said the economic fallout from COVID-19 has been devastating for students who lost jobs when restaurants and other businesses shut down during the peak of the pandemic. 她说，许多人后来无法找到稳定的工作。  

“Many of our students rely on jobs and financial aid to pay their way through school, so COVID created an unfortunate situation for students in need and left many of them with unpaid debt,” Muñoz said.

“Thanks to this federal aid, we were able to help hundreds of students who experienced a COVID-related crisis,” she said. “This funding has allowed them to stay on track towards their degree, lift holds to register for classes, and prevented student debts from going to collections.”

The efforts reflect 囊状态 President Robert S. Nelsen’s “student-centric” governance, said Curry.

“The President and his administration are all about students, through and through,” she said. “They are 100% committed to helping those who are struggling.”