College at no cost will continue this summer, fall at Central Carolina Technical College; extension of initiative through fall semester has just 2 exceptions during summer sessions

BY BRUCE MILLS 
bruce@theitem.com

If it works one time, then make every effort to do it again.

After about a 6% increase in enrollment this semester and some COVID-19 relief money still available along with other funding sources, Central Carolina Technical College is extending its spring no-cost tuition initiative to summer and fall.

Nicole Ouellette, CCTC’s director of marketing and communications, shared all the details on Thursday on the extension of “college at no cost” at the school for the upcoming terms that has just two program exceptions in the summer.

Like this spring, the initiative includes more than 50 academic programs from accounting to welding and everything in between. Both full-time and part-time students will qualify.

Headcount enrollment rose 168 students, or 6.4%, from fall to spring because of the no-cost tuition offering, and given the positive impact, the college has made every effort to do it again, Ouellette said.

“We feel that it will benefit our students to continue this extension for them,” she said.

Every technical college in the state did no-cost tuition this spring, but only some have extended it for summer and fall, Ouellette added.

If a student declares an academic program of study in a high-demand, workforce program – such as in the college’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences or School of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology – then nothing changes for qualifying moving forward in summer and fall. This summer, there will be two exceptions, though, because Associate in Arts and Associate in Science courses will not be covered with no-cost tuition. But those programs will be back in the mix in the fall semester, Ouellette said.

“Essentially, everything is mirrored from the spring, except the two summer program changes,” she added.

Also, similar to the spring, transient students who have a home college elsewhere are not included and neither are dual-enrollment students.

Spring headcount enrollment at the college is 2,808, when including both full-time and part-time students.

In addition to tuition, some required course fees are also at no cost again. Textbooks are not covered, however.

Current tuition for a standard, three-hour course at CCTC is $582 for a resident of its four-county service area, which includes Sumter, Clarendon, Lee and Kershaw counties. Tuition for a pair of three-hour courses is $1,164 for area students.

To obtain the scholarships, people must be a South Carolina resident and also complete one of three requirements: remain employed while taking classes, take a financial literacy course offered at CCTC or complete 100 hours of community service.

Additionally, if interested, individuals must apply to CCTC and also complete a free application for federal student aid, or FAFSA, for which everyone qualifies.

After that procedure, the scholarship is automatically applied if a student is enrolled, according to Ouellette.

The college is pushing for potential students to apply as soon as possible, she added. Central Carolina’s first summer session begins May 18, and its second summer session begins June 27.

The fall semester starts on Aug. 22.

A critical part of CCTC’s mission and goals is to create a pipeline for students to fill area businesses and industry with skilled workers, Ouellette said, and extending the no-cost initiative is another step in that direction.

For more information and to see if you qualify, visit cctech.edu/no-cost-tuition