Students at Wiley College in Marshall, eastern Texas, were told at their commencement ceremony that because of a contribution by an anonymous donor, they were graduating without debt.
“You are debt-free. You do not owe the college a penny. If you have a balance, you had a balance,” the university president said to cheers from the crowd in a video posted to social media by the school.
Around 100 students graduated from the university during the ceremony on Saturday when they were told that their combined remaining debt of around $300,000 had been paid off by the donor.
“We are constantly communicating with donors to assist students in these ways so that they can begin their after-college experience with less debt,” school president Herman Felton Jr said in a statement.
“We are grateful for this anonymous donor who will assist the students in paying off their balances to Wiley College and help us achieve institutional goals of graduating our students with little to no debt,” he added.
Tuition at the historically Black university was recently decreased to $17,500, which includes tuition, fees, and room and board.
The college was founded in 1873 and was named after Bishop Isaac Wiley. It mainly teaches liberal arts and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
