Over 1,100 University of Tennessee students received UT Promise scholarships this year
Monica KastOver 1,100 students took part in the UT Promise scholarship program in its first semester at the University of Tennessee System.
UT Promise, a last-dollar scholarship program modeled after Tennessee Promise, was announced last year as a way to cover tuition and fees for students with a household income of less then $50,000 per year.
This fall was the first semester for the program and 1,191 students took part in the program across the UT System. At Friday's Board of Trustees meeting, UT System President Randy Boyd said the UT program is aimed at helping more students attend UT and graduate debt-free.
"We want to be a university that provides opportunity for every person that can academically earn the right to come, regardless of your financial means," Boyd said. "This will do that. We also want to retain our students. We don't want them to drop out because of financial reasons. This will also make it less likely for more students to drop out."
This year, the UT System set a record enrollment, despite declining enrollment trends nationwide and the COVID-19 pandemic. Enrollment across the system increased by nearly 2% to over 52,500 students.
Chattanooga had the most Promise students
Ashton Braddock, UT Promise coordinator, presented an update on the program since it was announced last year and began this semester.
"It is no secret that college access and affordability is an issue at the forefront of higher education," Braddock said Friday.
Most of the UT Promise students who enrolled were at the Chattanooga campus, with 449 students. UT Knoxville, the largest campus in the system, had 409 UT Promise students and UT Martin had 333. The Health Science Center had several applicants, but ultimately, none were eligible for the scholarship, Braddock said.
“We’re excited about the first year’s success and we expect to build on this foundation to grow it in the future,” Boyd said
In total, the program cost over $864,000 in its first year, which was funded by donations to an endowment. UT Knoxville, which has higher tuition and fees than Chattanooga and Martin, used most of the total, at $619,306. UT Chattanooga, who had the most UT Promise students, used $129,224.
At UT Martin, $116,442 went toward UT Promise scholarships. The average amount given to students across the System was $709, Braddock said.
Demographics
Freshmen make up the majority of UT Promise recipients, at 52%. Around 68% of UT Promise students are female and 32% are male. Approximately 47% of UT Promise students are first generation college students.
The average household income of eligible students is $25,859, Braddock said.
Of the UT Promise recipients, 64% are white, 17% are Black, 8% are Hispanic, 5% are multiracial and 4% are Asian.
Community service and mentors
Part of the UT Promise program requires students to complete 8 hours of community service before the semester begins. Several students did not complete their community service before the start of the fall semester, which made them ineligible, Braddock said.
With COVID-19, completing community service was a challenge for some students, she said.
Another key component of UT Promise is mentorship, where students are paired with a mentor for two years to help guide them through college. UT had over 1,400 mentors available for students this year. Because of that, mentors were paired with students on a one-to-one basis, Braddock said.