Meredith College President Maureen A. Hartford has extended an offer that will allow female undergraduate students displaced by Hurricane Katrina the opportunity to continue their educations at Meredith during the fall term.

Female students who were enrolled at colleges and universities in the Gulf Coast region that have been closed because of Hurricane Katrina will be granted guest status and will be able to attend fall semester classes at Meredith tuition free.

As space allows, students may enroll in classes for academic credit or on an audit basis. The College will work with faculty to place students in available classes. On-campus housing will also be provided on a space-available basis. Meredith will provide transcripts and academic records for students who have completed classes upon their return to their home institutions.

Meredith has already been contacted by displaced students who wish to take advantage of this offer. Other interested students should contact the Meredith College Office of Admissions (admissions@meredith.edu or 1-800-MEREDITH) as soon as possible.

Meredith's offer to enroll displaced college students temporarily is just one of the ways that President Hartford expects the campus to support disaster victims. "The people affected by this tragedy are in desperate need of the thoughtfulness, compassion and generosity that characterize the Meredith campus," Hartford said. "I have no doubt that our students, faculty, staff and alumnae will mount an inspirational effort to help our neighbors on the Gulf Coast whose lives have been torn apart by this disaster."

Additional information about the College's disaster relief efforts will be available on the Meredith web site, www.meredith.edu.

Meredith College, located in Raleigh, N.C., is an independent, private women's college that enrolls approximately 2,200 students. Since its founding in 1891, Meredith has expanded to become one of the largest private women's colleges in the U.S.