South Carolina General Assembly
109th Session, 1991-1992

Bill 3418


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Introducing Body:               House
Bill Number:                    3418
Primary Sponsor:                Sharpe
Committee Number:               30
Type of Legislation:            GB
Subject:                        Tuition Payment Plan
Residing Body:                  House
Current Committee:              Ways and Means
Date Tabled:                    Apr 09, 1991
Computer Document Number:       3418
Introduced Date:                Feb 05, 1991
Last History Body:              House
Last History Date:              Apr 09, 1991
Last History Type:              Tabled in Committee
Scope of Legislation:           Statewide
All Sponsors:                   Sharpe
                                Townsend
                                G. Brown
                                Jaskwhich
                                Sturkie
                                Quinn
                                Smith
                                Neilson
                                Rama
                                Wilder
                                Burriss
                                Corning
                                Waites
                                Wofford
                                Huff
                                Wright
                                A. Young
                                Chamblee
                                Hallman
                                Marchbanks
                                McLeod
                                Littlejohn
                                Gonzales
                                Wells
                                H. Brown
                                McAbee
                                Rhoad
                                Felder
                                Houck
                                D. Elliott
                                Baxley
                                Koon
                                J.C. Johnson
                                Carnell
                                Manly
                                Lanford
                                Meacham
                                Derrick
                                Wilkins
                                Keegan
                                McCain
                                Cork
                                J. Harris
                                McTeer
                                Fair
                                Shirley
                                L. Martin
                                Snow
                                Altman
Type of Legislation:            General Bill



History


 Bill  Body    Date          Action Description              CMN
 ----  ------  ------------  ------------------------------  ---
 3418  House   Apr 09, 1991  Tabled in Committee             30
 3418  House   Feb 05, 1991  Introduced, read first time,    30
                             referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING CHAPTER 143 TO TITLE 59 SO AS TO ENACT THE SOUTH CAROLINA TUITION PAYMENT PLAN.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. Title 59 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"CHAPTER 143

South Carolina Tuition Payment Plan

Section 59-143-10. (A) The State shall pay the tuition of a student who enrolls as an undergraduate in a public institution of higher learning who applies for his tuition to be paid and who meets the following qualifications:

(1) has resided in South Carolina during the twenty-four months preceding enrollment;

(2) has a parent or guardian who is domiciled in this State;

(3) has graduated from high school within the two years preceding the application with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 calculated on a 4.0 scale;

(4) successfully has completed seventeen and one-half units of high school coursework (ninth grade or higher), which constitutes a core curriculum and meets standards for admission to the desired institution. The core curriculum is:

(a) English I, II, III, and IV (four units);

(b) Algebra I and II (two units);

(c) Geometry, Trigonometry, Calculus, or comparable advanced Mathematics (one unit);

(d) Biology (one unit);

(e) Chemistry (one unit);

(f) Earth Science, Environmental Science, or Physics (one unit);

(g) American History (one unit);

(h) World History, World Cultures, Western Civilization, or World Geography (one unit);

(i) Civics and/or Economics (one unit);

(j) Fine Arts Survey (one unit, or alternate);

(k) Foreign Language (two units);

(l) Computer Science (one-half unit);

(m) Electives from the above (one unit);

(5) has a combined score on the Scholastic Aptitude Test of at least eight hundred or a combined score on the American College Test of at least eighteen;

(6) has no criminal record (including abuse of any controlled substances);

(7) is found to be in financial need as determined in this chapter.

(B) In each year a public institution of higher learning may admit a student who qualifies for payment of his tuition as provided in this section if the student meets at least two of the requirements enumerated in items (3) through (5) of subsection (A) of this section and fails to meet eligibility for the third by an amount equal to ten percent or less, but the total number of the students who do not meet all of the eligibility requirements of items (3) through (5) of subsection (A) of this section may not exceed ten percent of the total number of students admitted the previous year who received tuition as provided in this section.

(C) To maintain continued state payment of tuition once enrolled a student shall:

(1) make steady academic progress toward a degree, earning not less than the minimum number of hours of credit required for full-time standing in each academic period;

(2) maintain full-time enrollment standing for not less than two semesters or three quarters in any academic year;

(3) rank in the upper fifty percent of the total number of his classmates in the public institution of higher learning;

(4) have no criminal record.

Section 59-143-20. (A) The provisions of this chapter must be administered by the Commission on Higher Education. The commission shall promulgate regulations to implement this chapter.

(B) By regulation, the commission shall provide for:

(1) a mechanism for informing all students of the availability of the assistance provided pursuant to this section early enough in their schooling that a salutary motivational effect is possible;

(2) application forms, financial audit procedures, eligibility, and other program audit procedures, and other matters related to efficient operation.

(C) On a case-by-case basis, the commission may waive the requirement of this chapter that a student receiving a tuition payment have no criminal record.

Section 59-143-30. For purposes of this chapter, financial need is determined in the same manner that financial need is determined for purposes of Chapter 113 of this title.

Section 59-143-40. The General Assembly shall appropriate annually to the commission funds sufficient to meet initial and continuing tuition payments made pursuant to this chapter. The payments must be made directly to the public institution upon the receipt of written notice from the institution that the student is enrolled. If funding is insufficient, tuition payments must be proportionately reduced or eliminated as the commission considers appropriate.

Section 59-143-50. The commission may seek, accept, and expend funds from any source, including private contributions available for this purpose.

Section 59-143-60. No student may receive a grant pursuant to this chapter in an amount greater than the tuition charged by the school. The student shall apply for all federal grants before receiving state funds, and the amount of the state grant for tuition must be reduced by scholarships for tuition paid to the student from public or private sources.

Section 59-143-70. If a student who receives a tuition payment pursuant to this chapter fails to obtain a degree within six years of receiving the first payment or fails to maintain full-time enrollment standing for an academic year, he must repay to the commission the tuition payments he has received. The terms and conditions of this repayment requirement must be prescribed by the commission."

SECTION 2. This act takes effect January 1, 1992, and applies with respect to tuition due for the fall, 1992, semester or quarter.

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