BATON ROUGE - Louisiana State University announced Monday that it has erased more than $7 million in student debt, from spring 2020 until the present.

LSU says this was accomplished utilizing allocations from the federal Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. 

The university says that since the start of the pandemic it has provided more than $25 million in relief funds to students.

LSU Vice President for Enrollment Management Jose Aviles issued a statement regarding the erasure of student debt, saying, “In an effort to continue providing access to an LSU education, we have made the decision to clear all unpaid prior tuition and fee balances for LSU students who enrolled at any point during the COVID-19 pandemic period.”

“We are committed to ensuring that students have every opportunity to continue their educational pursuits," Aviles continued. "Their dream is to walk across the stage and receive an LSU diploma, and our job is to do everything we can to make sure that happens.”

The university says nearly 4,000 LSU students will be provided with some form of debt relief through this latest initiative.

Students who qualify for the debt relief will receive communication from Financial Aid & Scholarships in the Office of Enrollment Management with more details.

The debt forgiveness applies to students with balances owed directly to LSU.

Individuals in need of additional information should contact LSU's Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships at covidrelief@lsu.edu.