Contra Costa College Foundation Clears Student Debts

The Contra Costa College Foundation surprised 181 students by agreeing to pay off their debts to the community college.  

Students received texts with a video message from college president Kimberly Rogers announcing the news on Monday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

“Any debt you have to the college is officially eliminated. It’s true. No joke,” Rogers said in the video to the Class of 2026.

The foundation committed $31,490 to clearing students’ overdue tuition and fee payments, ranging from $2 to $980, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This year’s graduates were eligible for the debt relief if they qualified as a California resident under the state’s tuition structure, noted a news release from the college.

“The foundation has had a good year, philanthropically,” Contra Costa College Foundation executive director Sara Marcellino said in the release. “And the cost of living is exceptionally high right now, particularly in the Bay Area. Our donors and board wanted our graduates to leave knowing their community is behind them, investing in their success, and celebrating everything they’ve accomplished.”

Contra Costa College made a similar offer to students with outstanding debts to the college in 2021, as did other institutions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.