SC college offers free fall tuition for the first 500 students who apply for it
Denmark Technical College is giving away free tuition to 500 students, the school announced Tuesday.
The Denmark Technical College Tuition Assistance scholarship will nix the school’s $2,813 tuition for fall semester for the first 500 students who apply and are enrolled for the fall 2021 semester, according to a release from the school.
“We are ecstatic to have the opportunity to offer this scholarship to our students. This tuition assistance will provide access to education to students who, for many, have been deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and who otherwise may have had to forgo pursuing their educational and career goals,” Denmark Tech President Willie Todd Jr. said in a news release.
Returning students will also be eligible to receive the semester’s worth of free tuition. Out-of-state students who apply to the college can receive a $2,813 credit toward their tuition, according to the college’s website. Out-of-state tuition is $5,626 per semester, according to Denmark Tech’s website.
Students who are serious about attending Denmark Tech have a good chance of getting the scholarship. The school’s enrollment is less than 350, as of fall 2019, according to the most recent available data from the S.C. Commission on Higher Education.
Denmark Tech will pay for the scholarships using S.C. lottery funds, donations, workforce scholarships and alumni scholarships, according to Denmark Tech spokeswoman Amy Roper.
Denmark Tech, the state’s only historically Black technical college, has struggled with both financial issues and low enrollment in recent years.
Between 2011 and 2019, the most recent data available, enrollment declined from 1,431 to 333, despite 2019 projections that the number could turn around, The State previously reported. Former Denmark Tech officials said in 2019 that enrollment had declined more sharply than any other institution in the state largely because proposals to close or decimate the college led to fewer people enrolling.
Denmark Tech students, alumni and lawmakers rallied in response to those calls, emphasizing the school’s history, HBCUs’ role in building the Black middle class and the economic impact of the school in an economically depressed area.
This story was originally published June 1, 2021 at 2:34 PM.