President Biden announced last month detailed his debt-relief plan for students. The plan would cancel $10,000 in student debt for borrowers who earn less than $125,000 (individual borrowers) and $250,000 for households per year will be forgiven, and up to $20,000 of debt cancellation for Pell Grant recipients. 

According to Excelencia in Education, 51% of Latino undergraduate students borrowed funds to pay for their studies. 26% received loans of between $10,000 and $50,000. Since the official announcement, there have been countless predictions from organizations about the cost of loan forgiveness on the economy. 

One Christian College has focused on the benefits debt-relief will have for students. In a statement, Fresno Pacific University stated that approximately 5,300 students have taken approximately $63.2  million of the $79.3 million in  federal loans since 2018. Noting that “college debt falls most heavily on graduates who come from families of lower incomes and people of color as well as graduates just starting their career.” 

“These are the very students who attend FPU in the greatest numbers,” said FPU President André Stephens, Ph.D. “Even a modest debt at this time in their lives can have a lasting effect that makes it harder for them to enjoy the well-documented economic and social benefits of higher education. College debt can be debilitating just at the time graduates should be building success for themselves, their families and their communities.”

Although the university is praising President Biden’s efforts, it hasn’t always agreed with the Biden administration. Inside Higher ED reports FPU administration denied LGBTQ students the ability to form a Pride club on campus, which would offer safety and protection to queer and trans students. 

However, Fresno Pacific University remains one of the few Council of Christian Colleges and Universities to explicitly support the debt-relief, as reported by Inside Higher ED.