Howard University faced national scrutiny after unenrolling more than 500 incoming first-year students for missing tuition and financial aid deadlines. However, the university has since reinstated over 200 of those students, according to interim President Wayne A.I. Frederick.

In a July 29, 2026 interview with Stephanie Ramos on ABC News Live, Frederick explained that the university reviewed all 502 affected students and reconsidered those who provided required documentation, such as evidence of external scholarships, or who were able to make payments despite being late.

"We looked at students who were able to give us the documentation we were asking for in the first place, such as evidence of an external scholarship, and also students were able to remit payment, and so we took that into consideration despite the fact that it was late," Frederick said.

Addressing concerns about overenrollment, Frederick told ABC News that all unenrolled students had housing assigned and that the issue was not related to "bed capacity."

He emphasized that enforcing payment deadlines aims to prevent students from facing financial difficulties that could hinder degree completion, noting Howard's four-year graduation rate is under 70%.

"Over 2,200 students, families did exactly what we expected them to do and followed the policies and procedures and met the deadline, which means that I feel that our communication was pretty comprehensive," Frederick added. He also acknowledged the need to improve communication and student support.

Among those affected, 17-year-old Nikiyah Clark from Ohio, who was set to enroll this fall, said she was informed by the university that she was not permitted to re-enroll this year.

Sources