The United States Department of Education has given Morris Brown College (MBC) the green light to participate in its Federal Financial Aid program.
It’s an important and necessary step for the historically Black college located in Atlanta who is looking to regain its accreditation after losing it nearly 20 years ago.
The college had been restricted from taking part of the financial aid program after losing its accreditation The college has received accreditation candidacy by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS), a Virginia-based accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
After obtaining accreditation candidacy, Morris Brown College became eligible to participate in the Federal Financial Aid programs. Financial aid is any type of college funding that does not come from family, personal savings, or earnings. It can include grants, scholarships, work-study jobs, federal or private loan programs. Financial aid can be used to cover educational expenses such as tuition/fees, room/board, books/supplies, and transportation.
“We are elated about the reinstatement of Federal Financial Aid at Morris Brown College. This is history,” said Dr. Kevin James, president of MBC. James has been the driving force behind helping the school to regain its accreditation. At a price of $4,250 each semester, James said that MBC is one of the most affordable colleges in the state of Georgia.
“It is my goal that our students graduate with little to no debt,” he said. “Morris Brown College is now a viable option to everyone as we are historically a haven for all hungry souls. It is a new day for Morris Brown College. This is truly The Hard Reset!”
Founded by formerly enslaved religious leaders at Big Bethel AME Church in 1881, MBC is the first college in Georgia to be owned and operated by African Americans. The iconic Fountain Hall and the current Morris Brown College campus is where Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois wrote The Souls of Black Folk in 1903. Notable alumni include Alberta Williams King, mother of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and James Alan McPherson, the first Black writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction.