SCC Extends Free Tuition Into 2022-2023 AY

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Last spring, Spartanburg Community College (SCC) surprised their students and prospective students by announcing qualifying students would receive free tuition for the 2021-2022 school year.

Wednesday, SCC president Dr. Michael Mikota announced the school will be offering free tuition to students into the 2022-2023 school year.

This move will allow many in the Spartanburg and surrounding areas to obtain better and higher paying jobs. Dr. Mikota says this opportunity for SCC students will have a generational effect for Spartanburg.

“It’s very akin to throwing a rock into water and seeing the ripple effects,” Dr. Mikota said. “We threw a pretty big rock, and now we have to usher in those ripples and make sure we can sustain and grow those opportunities. I see the decisions we made at SCC to be a seedling for change that will grow in the years to come.”

Dr. Michael Mikota is the president of Spartanburg Community College (SCC). Here, he talks about his plans for the college and how to improve education for its students.
Both incoming and current students, who take at least six credit hours of classes in the fall, are eligible for the tuition assistance. The free tuition offer is available to students in any program at the college.

The free tuition is made available in part through the pilot program, Workforce Scholarships for the Future, announced by Gov. Henry McMaster in November. This fund will cover tuition for certain degrees and industry credentials at technical colleges in the state, including SCC. Additional funding comes from lottery and local funds.

Dr. Mikota said SCC was in a strong financial position leading into the pandemic, and his goal was to use those funds for the students in order to make sure the citizens have access to education in an affordable way.

“Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen people from all walks of life enter our campus,” Dr. Mikota said. “And we’ve had an unprecedented 66 percent increase in students aged 24 and older. One of the positives of this is it has made people re-evaluate what’s important to them.”

Dr. Michael Mikota is the president of Spartanburg Community College (SCC). Here, he talks about his plans for the college and how to improve education for its students.

OneSpartanburg, Inc.’s Bringing Back the Burg Business Recovery Task Force as well as the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) are working closely with the free tuition initiative. SAM is pushing for education attainment beyond K-12 and are also aligning resources to focus on FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) completion.

“From OneSpartanburg’s standpoint, all the talent portions of that vision plan are necessitated on growing the education base in meeting the need of the economy,” Dr. Mikota said. “We (SCC) want to be at the forefront and be the most affordable higher education in the state.”