COLUMBIA S.C. — Bills proposed in the South Carolina Legislature would allow veterans and their dependents to pay in-state tuition rates without first living in the state for a year. It would add to the current exemption list. More than 13,500 students paid the lower rate at the state’s public colleges and universities under eight exemptions in fall 2011, the latest year numbers are available:
· 1,124 active-duty military personnel stationed in South Carolina, or their dependents
· 74 full-time faculty and administrative employees of public colleges, or their dependents
· 479 people who moved to SC for a full-time job, or their dependents
· 92 retirees with a home in SC, or their dependents
· 948 students in the Southern Regional Education Board’s “common market” program enrolled in courses not available in their state
· 9,677 students receiving non-state scholarships approved by their college’s board, such as athletic scholarships.
· 1,084 students from border counties on state reciprocity agreements, such as Augusta, Ga., students at USC-Aiken, and Charlotte, N.C., students at Winthrop.
· 60 students from another country in approved VISA classifications
Source: Commission on Higher Education