Wenatchee Valley College Canceling $350,000 in Student Debt

Wenatchee Valley College is canceling more that $350,000 in student tuition debt which built up during the pandemic.

The school is using federal pandemic relief money to cancel $353,131 in student debt for more than 556 students who attended classes from the start of the COVID19 outbreak through last summer.

All of those students have unpaid tuition or fees at Wenatchee Valley College. The average amount of canceled tuition debt is $635.

The debt relief is coming through Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF).

The U.S. Department of Education has encouraged schools to use their HEERF funds to cancel student debt to support students facing challenges due to the pandemic. Wenatchee Valley College says it is one of a growing number of community colleges in Washington state using HEERF funds for student debt.

The school says it has also distributed over $3 million in emergency relief grants using CARES, CRRSA and ARP federal funding.