Howard University Students Blindsided By Tuition Bills After System Switch

Howard University Students Protest Living Conditions At Dorms On Campus

Photo: Getty Images North America

Howard University says it's working to help students who reported being blindsided by unexpected tuition balances following a switch to a new student platform, per NBC News.

At least 1,000 students were notified that they owed money to the HBCU, with some balances dating back two years. Howard students took to social media to share their experience, which has garnered national attention and crowdfunding efforts to help cover the tuition costs.

Alexis Rodriguez, a junior majoring in political science and Africana studies, said she discovered she owed $15,000 to the university.

“I don’t have any financial safety nets. I’m just fighting to stay enrolled,” Rodriguez said.

Before she could get help from the financial aid office, Rodriguez said her foreign language fellowship had been rescinded due to federal budget cuts. Rodriguez also lost her resident assistant position and housing stipend because of the tuition owed.

“Students at risk of homelessness don’t have time to wait for a system to figure things out,” she said.

A crowdfunding campaign for Rodriguez has raised nearly $7,000 toward her $10,500 goal.

While some students say they were blindsided by the new charges, Howard said the students had owed the balances all along.

In a statement, Howard University said account updates were delayed between January and June. The school also said students had been notified about data transfers between October and November, though the school had previously reported that the gap in information was only between May and June.

"Half of the accounts with holds on them were resolved due to student payments, financial aid or payment arrangements and holds are being lifted on their accounts," Howard said in a previous statement. The university also announced extended virtual and in-person office hours to support affected students.

Makiah Goodman, a biology student who shared multiple videos about her experience, said her account showed a significantly larger balance than it had in February 2025, at the start of the system outage. She has since raised more than $4,000 of the $6,000 she needs to stay enrolled.

A group of nearly 150 students have launched the Instagram account @whosehowardisit, sharing names and donation links for students with unresolved balances.

“The students on the list are just a fraction of those who need help," Taliana Singleton, a nursing student, said.

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