Edward Waters College is participating in a national pledge to provide debt-free schooling to 100 students.
The school announced Tuesday it is offering what’s called the College Promise, with the help of $356,000 in state funding.
But that appropriation will cover just one year of the program.
EWC is the second historically black college or university (HBCU) in the country to take the College Promise pledge and it’s doing so for 100 students.
In order to qualify, students must be first-time college-goers and have been awarded Pell grants and other federal funding based on financial need.
Each student will then receive $3,500 a year to cover the tuition gap. A four-year degree from EWC, which is Florida’s oldest HBCU, can cost $54,000 and Jacksonville state Rep. Tracie Davis (D-Jacksonville) said that can price out a lot of deserving people.
“As an alum, I’m definitely, definitely excited, but I sure wish College Promise was around when I was here because I don't know how many of us could’ve used that and been able to walk out of college debt free. That means something,” she said.
State Sen. Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) said she helped win the support of Senate President Joe Negron “in the dead of night” during tense budget negotiations last year. She said she would’ve liked to see EWC and other HBCU’s get more support than they did, but overall the college promise program would be a wellspring of possibility for young people of meager means.
“We want to make sure first time college students have an opportunity to succeed because with your education and your degree you can go anywhere and that’s what we want for a school that largely does have Jacksonville students and for a university that’s on the rise,” she said.
The scholarships will also cover bus passes for students without adequate transportation, but as of right now, EWC’s College Promise only has enough funding to cover the first year of school. Legislators will again have to approve funding for the program each year.
Still, Gibson said the important part was that the program was beginning.
Ryan Benk can be reached at rbenk@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter at @RyanMichaelBenk.
