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There has been a quick turn of events that will impact millions of borrowers. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan was given the green light to be put into action on Oct. 2, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Randall Hall, who represents the Southern District of Georgia. NBC News reports the plan had been under a temporary restraining order that was a result of a lawsuit against Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona. It was brought forward by the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, North Dakota, and Ohio. Hall was willing to allow the temporary restraining order to expire, and this was based on his belief that the Southern District of Georgia order “failed to show an injury that is concrete, particularized, actual, or imminent.” “Without standing, the Court finds it proper to dismiss Georgia as a party to the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and turns to Defendants’ arguments related to venue,” he...
Students and borrowers waiting on President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan may soon breathe a sigh of relief. According to NBC News, the president’s plan can move forward after a judge ruled Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, for a temporary restraining order against it to expire. U.S. District Judge Randall Hall, in his order from the Southern District of Georgia, said Georgia lacked standing to challenge the plan because it did not demonstrate any “concrete” or “imminent” injury. “Without standing, the Court finds it proper to dismiss Georgia as a party to the suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and turns to Defendants’ arguments related to venue,” he wrote, per NBC. Hall also concurred with the federal government’s stance that the venue was improper, stating that a plaintiff without standing cannot create a venue where it wouldn’t otherwise exist. He determined that the “most equitable result” would be to transfer the case to a district with the proper venue,...
North Carolina’s Fayetteville State University has landed a whopping donation set to support its students further. WTVD-11 reports that the HBCU received an anonymous donation of $750,000. The donation will aid Fayetteville State University’s free summer school called 30/60/90. The outlet details that the summer school program works to assist students with decreasing their student debt. What’s more, it focuses on students earning their degrees early. According to the summer school program’s website, the scholarship covers two courses or up to seven credit hours for undergraduate students, one course or up to three credit hours for graduate and doctoral students in the College of Education, book rental fees, other fees, and on-campus housing and meals. “The financial aid, they help me,” Deborah Cathcart, a rising sophomore student at Fayetteville State University, said per WTVD-11. She continued, “It helps me so much…this school, they introduce such an easy and just a practical way...
Far before Nia Long could fathom becoming a mother, she was putting in work to ensure that her future children would be able to live out their collegiate dreams. An actress best known for starring in cult classics like “Soul Food,” “The Best Man,” and “Love Jones,” Long is the mother of two sons, 23-year-old Massai Z. Dorsey II and 12-year-old Kez Sunday Udoka. During a fireside conversation hosted by Ally Financial during the 2024 American Black Film Festival, Long opened up about her journey to motherhood and how smart financial savings helped her put her eldest son through college without the help of any loans. At one point during the panel, “Money and Mindfulness: A Conversation with Nia Long,” the actress was asked what her values regarding her finances are. “One of the things is [that] I started saving for my children before I became a mother,” she recalled. “I took $3,000 and I just put [it] in this account. I was like, ‘I’m never touching that.’ And it allowed me to get my...
A surprise act of kindness has made Wiley College’s graduation day even brighter. On May 7, the historically Black college’s class of 2022 received the news that their remaining balances were paid off by an anonymous donor, according to a press release. For the college’s 133rd Commencement Convocation, the donation was announced to over 100 graduates by President & CEO Herman J. Felton, Jr. J.D., Ph.D. “You are debt-free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance,” Felton said in a video tweeted by Wiley College. Congratulations 2022 Graduates, YOU ARE DEBT FREE! Go Forth Inspired, glorious deeds to do. 🥹🙌🏾 #wileygrad22 #wileycollege #hbcu #hbcugrad #hbcupride #goforthinspired pic.twitter.com/a0zHUDTFc4 — Wiley College (@WileyCollege) May 7, 2022 Per the press release, the donor cleared an estimated total balance of $300,000. With the gift, the graduating class has been provided the freedom to focus on their future careers instead of student debt....
The world is waiting on you to get it done, Joe! A recurring question for current President Joe Biden is when he plans to fulfill his promises of forgiving the student debt impacting thousands of Americans. That question might have been answered according to reports from Complex that a host of borrowers could be eligible for a new program that would significantly slash or eliminate the debt. The move is possible through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program which was launched 15 years ago to help borrowers working in public servant-facing positions which include education, health care, emergency services, and others. Eligible borrowers will be credited for up to 10 years of monthly payments.
Target is the latest major retail corporation to extend an olive branch for free education to its employees. As previously reported by AfroTech, last month Walmart announced an education initiative in which the retailer would cover full tuition and book fees for their workers to go to college. Now, big-box retailer Target is joining in with its own debt-free education program that’s pledging roughly $200 million to fund the educational pursuits of its employees for the next four years. According to an announcement from the corporation, all Target workers will be eligible for its free education program that will cover fees for select undergraduate programs, certificates, certifications, free textbooks and more with zero out-of-pocket costs starting on their first day of work. The ambitious initiative is said to apply to all 340,000 plus Target employees for what the retailer describes as “the most comprehensive debt-free education assistance program available in the retail industry.”...
The country’s largest retailer and largest private employer is taking a stand for education on behalf of its employees. According to CNN, Walmart has announced that it plans to pay for full college tuition and book fees at some schools for its U.S. employees. Thus, making this the boldest effort from the retailer as of late to improve its benefit packages and attract new workers in America’s already tight job market. Starting on Aug. 16, Walmart says it will remove the $1 a day fee for associates, making all educational programs paid for by Walmart, according to its announcement. Meaning, approximately 1.5 million U.S.-based Walmart and Sam’s Club workers will be able to earn a college degree or learn trade skills without the hassle of student debt. “We are creating a path of opportunity for our associates to grow their careers at Walmart, so they can continue to build better lives for themselves and their families,” Lorraine Stomski — senior vice president of learning and...
Clark Atlanta University (CAU) is now the latest among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to forgive student debt amid the pandemic. According to an announcement from the Atlanta HBCU, it surprised its students last week after announcing that it would be clearing unpaid student account balances from the last five semesters over the 2020-2021 school year. FOX 5 also reported that CAU officials say that roughly 900 students with nearly $2 million in debt will have their balances canceled immediately. “We understand these past two academic years have been emotionally and financially difficult on students and their families due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” President Dr. George T. French, Jr. shared in a statement. “That is why we will continue to do all we can to support their efforts to complete their CAU education. Their academic and professional future is important to me and the entire Clark Atlanta University family. We care about students and want to lighten their...
What would you do if told your student debt could be erased? These students don’t even have to consider this question because it’s been done! Insider reports that the president of Wilberforce University, the country’s oldest private historically Black university, surprised Saturday’s graduating class with the gift of a lifetime- no student debt! During his commencement address, President Elfred Anthony Pickard announced that he would forgive the students’ debt. He proposed the move came after realizing the difficulties students faced while attending school remotely during the pandemic. “Because we are in awe of your strength and perseverance because you have made your family and yourselves proud because you have shown that you are capable of doing work under difficult circumstances because you represent the best of your generation, we wish to give you a fresh start,” said Pinkard in his speech. “So, therefore, the Wilberforce University board of trustees has authorized me to...
Have your finances been rocked by the coronavirus? Your credit card issuer might be willing to offer a helping hand, but you’ll likely have to ask for it. As America and the rest of the world wrestle with the COVID-19 pandemic, more daily lives are being upended. Lockdowns, self-quarantines and other drastic measures to stop the spread of the virus are becoming more common here in the U.S., leading to missed paychecks and unpaid time off from work and other hardships. For many Americans, whose financial margin for error is tiny even in the best of economic times, these disruptions can be a really big deal. They can make it hard to pay your mortgage, car loan or credit card bill, for example. The good news is that these disruptions will likely only be temporary, but that doesn’t make things any easier in the short term. Fortunately, you can take steps right now to help your situation: the simplest step is to call your credit card issuer and ask for help. Many credit card issuers have...
Unfortunately, Social Security payments can be garnished if you default on federal student loans , as many retired borrowers find out the hard way. Called an offset, more people than ever are losing out on Social Security benefits due to federal student loan debt. However, there are limits to how much can be garnished for student loans, though these limits don’t go far enough. If you’ve defaulted on your student loan debt, here’s what you need to know about student loans and Social Security benefits, as well as your options for student loan forgiveness at age 65 and above. Can student loan debt threaten your Social Security payments? What’s the Social Security garnishment limit? How many Americans had their Social Security payments garnished? What can people do to save their Social Security payments? What can you do to avoid student loan default? Student loans and Social Security payments: The bottom line Can student loan debt threaten your Social Security payments? Yes — and the...
Becoming debt-free is no easy feat, but by the age of 24, I was able to pay off $37,000 in student loans. Through sharing my story, I uncovered fears hidden within my friend group. A common theme was believing they had too much debt, the practice of avoiding debt, the shame of accumulating more debt, and uncertainty about how to stop living paycheck to paycheck. Once the fears were in the open, there was an opportunity to heal and grow. After helping my friends, one friend noted that the information was life-changing and too valuable not to share on a larger scale. From there, CreateFinStew was born. What began as a journey of helping my social circle developed into building a company that creatively transforms the financial stewardship of individuals and organizations. Financial Stewardship Financial stewardship is important to me and should be important to everyone because it helps foster good intentions about our present and our future. We are called to be good stewards of the...
Whether you recently took out a mortgage, you’re saddled with student loan debt, or you’ve overextended your credit cards, you may be one of the millions of Americans working to pay off their debt obligations. However, just because you’re paying off debt doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be thinking about your future. Saving for retirement now (even if it’s just a little) means you can reap the benefits of compound interest , allowing your investments to grow exponentially over time. It’s a strategy that pays off — a 25-year-old who contributes just $250 per month toward his or her retirement ($3,000 per year) with a return of nine percent would have more than $1 million by retirement age. Below, you’ll find a handful of strategies for saving for retirement, even if you’re in debt. 1. Consider Refinancing Your Student Loans Whether on your own or with a qualified cosigner, refinancing your student loans can free up some extra cash. The annual federal student rate interest amount is...