South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission

**History of the Commission** In 1970, the General Assembly passed a bill that created the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission, an agency that was charged with the responsibility of administering the Tuition Grants Program for state residents attending in-state independent college. Governor Robert E. McNair signed the bill on May 1, 1970. The original appropriation was $5,000 and no awards were made the first year. In 1971-72, the first awards were made as the program aided 43 students. In its second year of awards, 1972-73, a total of 134 students received grants. Now, after over 50 years in operation, the South Carolina Tuition Grants Program is awarding in excess of $45 million to about 12,000 students annually. Since its inception in 1970, over 500,000 Tuition Grant awards totaling over $1.1 billion have been made to South Carolinians attending the college of their choice. **Statutory Authority for the Commission** The General Assembly of the State of South Carolina, during the 1970 session, passed Act 1191 creating the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission. This Commission was created as a State agency charged with the responsibility for overseeing the operation of the Tuition Grants Program. **Our Mission** The mission of the South Carolina Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission is to provide access and opportunity for more South Carolinians to pursue a post-secondary education by providing need-based tuition grants to students who choose an independent higher education. - ***Program Goals:*** The primary goals associated with the agency’s mission are: - To provide eligible South Carolinians with the choice to attend the college that best meets their individual academic needs - To help offset the cost of attending an independent college or university, just as the state offsets the tuition costs of residents attending its public colleges - To preserve the dual system of public and private higher education in our state, which provides healthy competition and innovation among all sectors - To support optimal use of college facilities available at independent colleges and universities throughout the state - To save the state tax dollars that would otherwise be appropriated at a higher cost, via state subsidies to public colleges, if students choosing to receive an independent higher education migrated into the public college system