EL DORADO -- South Arkansas Community College will expand its out-of-state tuition waiver program.
College President Barbara Jones said the change might attract more students from neighboring Louisiana and make the institution competitive with others during recruiting.
Until now, students from Louisiana's Webster, Claiborne, Union and Morehouse parishes have been provided the waivers that amount to the difference between out-of-state, in-state and out-of-district tuition rates, said Veronica Creer, co-chairman of the college's board of trustees at a recent meeting.
The college -- acting on a recommendation from the finance committee -- will add Caddo, Bossier, Lincoln, Ouachita and both East and West Carroll parishes in Louisiana to the list, allowing them to receive scholarships from the college.
Students who apply from the added parishes must have a 2.5 high school or collegiate grade point average before transferring, the college's budget and finance committee recommended. Students from these parishes would be required to maintain a 2.0 GPA at South Arkansas to keep the waiver scholarship, Creer said.
Students, specifically "Arkansas wage earners," from Webster, Claiborne, Union and Morehouse parishes aren't required to follow the GPA criteria, said Craey Tucker, finance and administration vice president.
"The reason for this is the four parishes that are listed are actually listed by the state," Tucker said.
State Desk on 04/23/2017