Wayne State Offers New Program For Students Who Left University With Debt and No Degree
Wayne State offers former students with debt -- but no degree -- a way back. Wayne State University has launched the Warrior Way Back program, a novel approach to re-engage students who left the university with debt and without a degree.
In creating a new approach to university debt forgiveness, the Warrior Way Back will allow returning students to complete their degrees, meet growing demand for an educated workforce and support Detroit's economic renaissance.
"This innovative approach exemplifies Wayne State's role as a leader in college access," said WSU Provost Keith Whitfield. "No other school offers the level of support that we provide to students on the scale at which we do. In everything we do, we remain compassionate and committed to student success, making us the destination school for those who work hard to achieve more."
The Warrior Way Back program offers former students with an outstanding balance of less than $1,500 to re-enroll and "learn" away their past debt and earn a college degree. Warrior Way Back students will reduce their past-due balances by one-third at the end of each successfully completed semester until the debt is eliminated. Upon re-enrolling, students will have access to a whole suite of robust services and resources designed to help them achieve, many of which are new or enhanced since their initial experience at Wayne State.
"We hope Wayne State's Warrior Way Back debt-forgiveness program will become a national model and revolutionize the widespread practice of account and transcript holds that have unnecessary punitive effects on low-income students and exacerbate racial education attainment disparities," said Dawn Medley, associate vice president for enrollment management. "Many students are shut out of the path of higher education for small balances and never able to pursue their dream - we're excited to reopen that path."
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