Unexpected Tuition Bills Spark Student Complaints on Social Media at Howard University
Unexpected Tuition Bills Cause Financial Strain for Howard University Students
A transition to a new student financial services platform at Howard University has led to unexpected bills for thousands of dollars in past semester tuition for some students, causing financial strain and efforts to raise funds to cover these costs.
The university transitioned from Bison Web to Bison Hub, which led to delays in updating student account information between May and June of the past academic year. As a result, students were left with unexpected bills, leading to a scramble to find the necessary funds to pay these unexpected bills.
The university has acknowledged these issues and is offering support to affected students. They have provided institutional aid totaling $210 million and are expanding support services such as in-person and virtual appointments, financial counseling, and flexible payment plans to help students address these challenges ahead of the fall semester.
Howard University has also stated that students' accounts were delayed between January and June, with students being notified about data transfers between October and November.
One student, Alexis Rodriguez, who is studying political science and Africana studies, discovered that she owed $15,000. Rodriguez lost her foreign language fellowship due to federal budget cuts and her resident assistant position and housing stipend because of the owed tuition. A crowdfunding campaign for Rodriguez has raised nearly $7,000 toward her $10,500 goal.
Biology student Makiah Goodman learned about the tuition discrepancy in February 2025, during the monthslong outage. Goodman has raised more than $4,000 for the $6,000 she needs to continue attending Howard University.
Some students have been able to resolve the tuition discrepancies with the university on their own, but others are trying to raise the needed funds together through crowd funding efforts. A collective of nearly 150 students at Howard University created the Instagram account @whosehowardisit to keep a list of students who still need funds to settle balances with the university.
Taliana Simpleton, from the Instagram account @whosehowardisit, stated that the students on the list are "just a fraction of those who need help." Some students have posted their grievances with the university on social media, garnering millions of views.
The crowdfunding efforts are aimed at helping students who are struggling to pay their outstanding tuition balances at Howard University. The university has stated that the students had owed the balances all along, but some students claim they were being blindsided with new student debt.
[1] Howard University Students Struggling to Pay Unexpected Tuition Bills
[2] Howard University Students Raise Funds to Cover Unexpected Tuition Bills
[3] Howard University Students Face Financial Strain After Unexpected Tuition Bills
[4] Howard University Offers Support to Students Facing Unexpected Tuition Bills
[1] The unexpected tuition bills at Howard University have led to financial strain for students, prompting them to start crowdfunding campaigns to cover these costs.
[2] As a result of the transition to Bison Hub, many Howard University students are scrambling to find funds to pay for unexpected tuition bills, some of which total thousands of dollars.
[3] The delayed student account information updates on Howard University's new financial services platform have caused unexpected tuition bills, adding to the financial burden of many students who are already struggling with debt.
