Hudson County Community College Forgives $4.8M In Debt

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Nearly 5,000 students at Hudson County Community College can breathe a sigh of relief after the college expunged outstanding debts.

Using funds from the Higher Education Relief Fund from the CARES Act, Hudson County Community College expunged $4,861,188 in outstanding financial balances for approximately 4,800 students. The forgiven debt covers all outstanding balances for the semesters hit hardest with the COVID-19 pandemic: Spring, Summer, and Fall 2020, as well as Spring 2021 semesters.

The expungement was extended to all students, regardless of grade-point average, credits earned, continued enrollment during the pandemic, and the amount of the balance.

“COVID-19 has impacted our students and our community physically, emotionally, and economically, and eradicating all students’ outstanding financial balances was simply the right thing to do,” HCCC President Dr. Chris Reber said.

The college has distributed nearly $8.5 million in CARES Act funding to more than 5,348 individual students to date, according to Reber. More funding and support for students is on the way as well.

“Hudson County Community College is committed to meeting the academic, social, economic, and emotional needs of all of our students. We are doing all we can to remove barriers that students encounter in achieving their academic and career dreams,” he said.

HCCC's fall semester will bring back on-the-ground operations, and enrollment starts on Sept. 1.