More than 200 first-year students who were previously unenrolled from Howard University have been reinstated, according to local reports. The university’s interim president, Wayne Frederick, shared the update during an interview with WTOP Radio in Washington, D.C.
“There is a resolution for everybody, and that resolution includes that some of the students, as I said, more than 200 of them, will be with us, and unfortunately for the other students, they won’t be able to join this fall,” Frederick said. “But we’re also offering them a resolution that includes the ability to transfer, to defer their enrollment, or if they choose to enroll elsewhere, that we will help in any way that we can to get them to where they want to be.”
Last Friday, Howard confirmed in a statement that it had notified “502 first-time-in-college students whose accounts did not reflect the required enrollment and financial obligations by the previously communicated deadlines.”
According to the university, students who had not completed their enrollment began receiving communications as early as March outlining enrollment requirements, payment expectations and key deadlines through email and orientation sessions.
The issue quickly sparked a firestorm on social media, with several students posting emotional videos after learning they had been unenrolled.
Earlier this week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that New York students who were unenrolled from Howard would be guaranteed admission to State University of New York and City University of New York campuses. The state will expedite late admissions and waive the usual $800 enrollment deposit.
“Hundreds of students, including New Yorkers, are scrambling and scared since they’ve been disenrolled from their intended college just a few weeks before classes are set to begin,” Hochul said in a statement. “New York is home to the nation’s finest systems of public higher education, and we are ready to welcome these talented students with the opportunity they deserve. To every student who is worried that their educational future has been thrown into uncertainty: We are ready to help.”
