DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) — A Howard University incoming freshman who was unenrolled weeks before move-in day has been reinstated — but she says she is not staying quiet.

Jordyn Davis, 18, of Coffee High School, was among 502 first-time-in-college students who received unenrollment notifications from Howard University in late July 2026. Davis said her student account showed a $0.00 balance on July 10, the deadline to make a required 50% payment or enroll in a payment plan.

“My account stated I had a zero balance,” Davis said. “So because I had a zero balance, I was not able to make a payment plan or make a payment to that balance.”

Account showed $0 before deadline

Davis said she had been awarded $50,669 in financial aid, including $41,169 in grants and scholarships and $9,500 in federal student loans. On July 16, she attended a virtual one-on-one advising appointment and said she was told she was in excellent standing.

Then, on July 22, a balance of $5,797 appeared in her Bison Hub account. Later that same day, she received a notification that she had been unenrolled.

“It kind of felt like I had been betrayed,” Davis said. “I put all my eggs in one basket. I put everything into going to this school. I paid the dues that I was supposed to pay. I had all my scholarships. I worked so hard all 12 years just to be able to go to this school, keep a 4.0 GPA — and then just to be kicked out within unfortunate circumstances.”

Reinstatement process took hours

Davis said she immediately contacted Enrollment Management, university leadership, Financial Aid, and the Bursar’s Office. The following morning, she made a $2,014.80 payment toward the balance.

She said the reinstatement process was lengthy. A representative went to the school on her behalf, and it took approximately 10 hours before anyone met with them. Davis said emails went unanswered, and when a response came, she was initially told nothing could be done.

“I gave them all of my evidence, all of my information,” Davis said. “I told them what I had seen in my account and in my account balance.”

Davis said she was eventually told she was supposed to pay a “future balance” that was not visible in her account portal. She said a source inside the university later told her there was never a future balance to pay.

Speaking out for students still unenrolled

Davis said more than 300 students remain unenrolled as of the interview. She said she connected with other affected students through group chats and received support from Miss Howard University and other advocates, including a student who started a GoFundMe on behalf of those unenrolled.

Despite her reinstatement, Davis said she is still processing the experience.

“Sometimes I do think about, what if I just don’t go?” Davis said. “It makes me feel like they don’t want me and they don’t care about me as their student. They just see me as another number.”

Davis, a first-generation college student and honor graduate, said she chose Howard because it has been her dream school since childhood. She plans to major in criminology and pursue a career as a criminal defense attorney, with a goal of opening her own law firm in Atlanta.

She said she is speaking out because she wants the university and the public to understand the human impact of enrollment decisions.

“Behind every student account, every balance, and every enrollment status is a real person with real dreams, real families, and a future that can be deeply impacted by what happens,” Davis said.

Her message to students who remain unenrolled: “Don’t give up. Just because they deny you don’t mean that you are officially denied. You can keep pushing. You can keep trying. You can keep advocating for yourself and make them do right.”

Davis said she is scheduled to move into her Howard University residence hall next Wednesday.

Howard University responds

In a statement dated July 23, 2026, Howard University said it sent multiple communications to first-time-in-college students from March through July regarding payment requirements, payment plan options, and deadlines needed to secure enrollment for the fall 2026 semester.

The university said the 502 students who received unenrollment notifications had accounts that did not reflect the required enrollment and financial obligations by the previously communicated deadlines. Howard said the fall semester begins Aug. 17.

In response to questions about students who saw a $0 balance before July 10 and were later unenrolled after charges appeared, the university said it “recognizes that timing differences may have occurred between when financial aid was reflected and when charges were finalized.” The university said students who believe their account did not accurately reflect their financial standing at the deadline should contact the Bursar’s Office, and that each case will be reviewed individually.

On the July 10 deadline — which does not appear on the university’s published payment calendar — Howard said the date was part of “ongoing targeted instructions” sent to first-time-in-college students beginning in March and communicated directly via email and at orientation. The university said the published Aug. 3 calendar date applies to returning students.

Howard University President Wayne A.I. Frederick, in an interview with CNN, said the university could have done more to clarify the payment threshold.

“I think people misunderstood what we meant by 50%,” Frederick said. “The bill is $60,000. If you had $40,000 worth of aid, people felt they made the threshold. We meant the outstanding balance after the $40,000, which is $20,000. And so we wanted people to pay us 50% of that $20,000 that was left. And that’s an example where we could have actually put in some numbers as an example.”

Frederick said the unenrollment action was connected to the university’s concerns about student retention and graduation rates.

“We have really allowed students to show up without paying us, to carry balances beyond what is appropriate,” Frederick said. “And as a result, if you look at our retention rate, it has consistently gone down. So our four-year graduation rate as a result is just about 70%.”

Frederick said he takes responsibility for the distress caused by the timing of the notifications.

“First, let me start by apologizing for any distress that we may have caused,” Frederick said. “I recognize that with it being so close to school, that certainly caused some people some significant distress. And so for that, I apologize. And I certainly take full responsibility for that.”

On the question of students awaiting outside scholarships, Frederick said the university required documentation confirming those funds would arrive — not the funds themselves.

“People disperse money to us at different times, even as late as November for the fall semester,” Frederick said. “But what we needed on the front end was confirmation and verification that those scholarships would come in.”

The university said it is not offering additional admission from a waitlist in connection with the unenrollment action.

Students with questions about their enrollment status were directed to contact [email protected]. Students with financial aid questions were directed to [email protected], and students with questions about pending scholarships or account balances were directed to [email protected].

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook, Instagram and X. For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app and add WALB as a preferred source on Google.

Copyright 2026 WALB. All rights reserved.