Tri-C program aims to help students return

Cuyahoga Community College has announced the debut of the Tri-C College Comeback program, a new initiative with the goal of forgiving student debt and encouraging students to return to Tri-C and complete their degrees and certificates.

This program pairs with the college’s existing Student Debt Forgiveness program to provide two debt forgiveness options: one for students who stopped attending Tri-C prior to the COVID-19 outbreak last March and another for those who have stopped attending since then, according to a news release.

The College Comeback program uses designated institutional funds to recover students who stopped attending prior to spring 2020. Eligible students will be connected to services and resources to support their academic and personal success, including financial education, career advising and academic services.

Students must re-enroll at Tri-C and complete at least one course while maintaining a minimum 2.0 GPA.

Those who meet the requirements are eligible to receive forgiveness of prior unpaid student debt up to $1,000. The debt will be paid at the end of their next semester of enrollment.

The Student Debt Forgiveness program applies up to $1,000 in Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund dollars toward the unpaid student debt of those who stopped attending college classes due to the pandemic.

Thus far, the Student Debt Forgiveness program has paid off balances for more than 2,300 students and reduced balances for 800 more, the release stated.

“These programs are crucial for Tri-C to continue providing the best possible access to education for our community,” Tri-C President Alex Johnson stated in the release. “We recognize the challenges that have been posed by the pandemic and other factors in our students’ lives, and we will continue working to help them face those challenges so they can resume the path to completion.”

Visit tri-c.edu/comeback for details on the College Comeback program.