Columbia, SC – (February 27, 2008) - Since 2002, more than 175,000 technical college students have received Lottery Tuition Assistance. For year to year comparisons, the percentage of students in the technical college system receiving aid has risen from 27 percent of enrollees in the lottery’s first year to 36 percent, or about 40,000 students, in academic year 2006-07.
The Lottery Tuition Assistance (LTA) program was created by the General Assembly in 2002 for students in South Carolina’s 16 public two-year technical institutions and two-year public and private institutions including the University of South Carolina’s regional campuses. The amount of assistance students receive fluctuates based on deposits to the Education Lottery Account and student demand.
The LTA program assists students who will serve as the keystones of the knowledge-based economy while investing in the state’s current and future families. LTA is a flexible program available to full-time as well as part-time students. The program is ideally suited for students with demands outside school, such as career and family. Many LTA recipients would not be able to continue their studies without the financial support and flexibility of the program.
“I’m a wife and a mother, so I have to think about my family,” said Midlands Technical College student Joann Zeise. “As a family, we were much more comfortable sending me back to school with the Lottery Tuition Assistance. We are a family on a budget and the combination of a great technical college with a flexible schedule and the Lottery Tuition Assistance makes going back to school much easier.”
For more information on how education is winning with SCEL, visit www.sceducationlottery.com. To learn more about LTA and how to apply for assistance, please visit www.sctechsystem.com or call (803) 896-5320.