Will Offer Educational Relief to Students from Affected Areas
CHICAGO, IL - As part of the Katrina relief efforts by the higher education community, Columbia College Chicago will enroll and house a limited number of at risk or in need undergraduate students directly affected by Hurricane Katrina for this Fall Semester. All expenses, including full tuition, room and board and transportation costs will be covered, for up to a year or as soon as they are able to return to their original educational homes.
“Columbia understands that for most affected students it may be best for them to take a break from school to support their families and communities rather than to enroll temporarily in another college,” said Mark Kelly, Columbia’s vice president for student affairs. “With that in mind, we want to do what we can to help students continue on their educational paths and return to their home colleges as soon as possible.”
In addition to reaching out to local students from the three-state area who had been scheduled to attend their local colleges and universities, Columbia is working with more than thirty Chicago area students whose plans to attend college in the affected area have been disrupted. These students are returning home to Chicago and have contacted Columbia about late enrollment opportunities. The school is making that available, as well as working with the students on a case-by-case basis to offer need-based tuition relief.
“We also have approximately twenty-five Columbia students who hail from the Katrina-devastated areas,” added Kelly. “We are contacting each of these students individually and offering appropriate assistance to the students and their families to help them through this very difficult time. Both Dr. Carter and I urge the entire Columbia community to reach out to our current students and to extend a particularly warm welcome to the new students who will be joining us.”
Columbia College Chicago classes for Fall Semester BEGIN MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6, but we are prepared to help students start late as circumstances dictate. Students should contact Murphy Monroe, Executive Director of Admissions as quickly as possible at 312-344-7133 or mmonroe@colum.edu.
Students may also link to the informational website at http://www.colum.edu/admissions/katrinaenrollment.html for further information on application procedures.
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