Colleges and universities in the D.C. metro area and across the country are opening their dormitories and classrooms to students from Gulf Coast-area schools affected by Hurricane Katrina.
AU, Georgetown University, the George Washington University, Howard University and the Catholic University of America have developed unique assistance plans based on how each school can best allocate its resources.
Students from the D.C. metro area who attended Loyola University, a Jesuit school in New Orleans, are eligible to take courses at Georgetown on a "space available basis," according to a statement on the university's Web site. Loyola students will not be required to pay Georgetown, but they are required to pay Loyola if they have not already. Coursework and grades will be sent to Loyola at the end of the semester.
"We hope that this assistance to students at our sister Jesuit institution can be a small measure of support during this difficult time and offers Loyola the opportunity to continue instruction for those from the local area," said Georgetown Provost James J. O'Donnell in the statement.
Howard University received approximately 57 displaced students after the Labor Day holiday and expects about 20 more to arrive soon, said Linda Sanders-Hawkins, director of undergraduate admissions at Howard.
Howard is offering assistance to all affected schools in the Gulf Coast, said Alvin Thornton, associate provost for academic affairs. A significant number of students from the D.C. area who attended Gulf Coast schools have already come or are on their way to Howard, he said.
Gulf coast area schools such as Dillard University, Tulane University and Xavier University "draw heavily" from the D.C. metro area, Thornton said.
Howard will honor the scholarships offered to displaced students who were accepted to Howard, but chose to attend a school in a Katrina-affected area, he said. If any student decides to enroll permanently at Howard, his or her scholarship money from the previous institution will be carried over, Thornton said.
Other schools nationwide are assisting in the hurricane relief effort by admitting displaced students. Pennsylvania State University is accepting applications from students who attended schools directly affected by Katrina, said Karen Zitomer, a spokeswoman for the university.
"Most of the specific examples of students... coming here are from Tulane," she said, but the university is not limiting admission to students from any one school.
Penn State was "inundated with calls" last week after the school announced that it would take in hurricane-affected students at either the main campus in University Park or one of its other 23 campuses, Zitomer said.
At Penn State's football opener last weekend, donations for hurricane relief funds were collected as fans came to and left the game, Zitomer said. Greek organizations on campus have also been holding charitable events to help victims.
"Penn State has always tried to be at the forefront of civic-mindedness," she said.
Delaware State University in Dover, Del., is offering free tuition fall semester to students who are residents of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana or Mississippi and attended schools damaged by Katrina, said Carlos Holmes, a spokesman for the university. Free tuition is also offered to students who reside in the Mid-Atlantic region who attended schools in the disaster area.
Two students were admitted to the university Tuesday, and five others have been accepted, Holmes said. DSU students who did not return to the university have freed up housing space for new students, although the school has received numerous offers from locals to put students up in homes, he said.
"We understand what a calamitous situation this has been," Holmes said.
