Robinson asks Capitol Hill to help FAMU students hurt by Parent PLUS Loan crisis

Last week, FAMU Interim President Larry Robinson headed to the nation’s capital to discuss the Corrine Brown joined him for a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

Parent PLUS Loan crisis that has hurt the university’s enrollment. FAMU alumna and U.S. Congresswoman Corrine Brown.

FAMU and many other historically black colleges and universities were hurt by stricter eligibility requirements for the federal PLUS Loan program that the U.S. Department of Education implemented in October of 2011.

The PLUS Loan changes resulted in thousands of low-income HBCU students being denied this critical source of financial aid and either having to withdraw from school or delay their entry into college.

Back in the Fall of 2012, a total of 569 FAMU students were denied PLUS Loans. More than 800 FAMU have been affected. 

According to a press release by the Congressional Black Caucus: “Until 2011, the Department of Education did not interpret ‘adverse credit history’ in the Parent PLUS Loan eligibility criteria to include charge offs, medical collections and other credit issues. Effective in 2012, while African American families were disproportionately suffering from the impact of a faltering economy, a new, more restrictive interpretation of ‘adverse credit history’ was applied in determining eligibility for Parent PLUS Loans.”

Marcia L. Fudge, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, released a statement in August that demanded that the Department of Education “immediately suspend use of the new ‘adverse credit’ criteria as a determinant for Federal Parent PLUS Loan eligibility. Thousands of students, particularly those who attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), have had to abruptly leave school with no clear path to returning. Student enrollment at HBCUs has dropped, which has resulted in a loss of nearly $150 million for the HBCU community.”

Duncan apologized to a group of HBCU leaders back in September for the way his agency handled the PLUS Loan eligibility changes. But the problem remains unresolved.