KNOXVILLE – The University of Tennessee’s statewide UT Promise tour is making an encore performance in northeast Tennessee on Monday, Oct. 21 to continue promotion of its innovative, free tuition program. Earlier in the month, UT Interim President Randy Boyd traveled to Memphis, Martin, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville to talk with high school students and community leaders about the new scholarship program.
“Through our initial UT Promise tour, we were able to reach 3,000 high school students in the span of three days,” Boyd said. “We look forward to visiting our friends in the Tri-Cities and talking about how UT can help them achieve their dream of a college degree.”
Since the launch of the UT Promise tour on Sept. 23, more than 1,100 applications have been submitted by high school students across the state. Students must complete the Tennessee Promise application by Nov. 1 and the UT Promise application by Dec. 15 to be eligible.
UT Promise is a last-dollar scholarship program that guarantees free tuition and mandatory fees for qualifying Tennessee undergraduate students with a family household income of under $50,000 after other financial aid is received (such as Pell Grants, HOPE Scholarship or other institutional scholarships) at UT Knoxville, UT Chattanooga, UT Martin and UT Health Science Center. Students must qualify for the Tennessee Hope Scholarship and meet the academic qualifications for the institution to be eligible for this new scholarship. To help ensure success, students will be matched with volunteer mentors and will complete eight volunteer service hours each semester.
Boyd will make five stops at northeast Tennessee high schools during his one-day tour.
Monday, Oct. 21:
- 8 – 8:30 a.m. – Tennessee High School (1112 Edgemont Avenue, Bristol)
- 9:30 – 10 a.m. – Dobyns Bennett High School (1 Tribe Way, Kingsport)
- 10:45 – 11:15 a.m. – Daniel Boone High School (1440 Suncrest Drive, Gray)
- 12:45 – 1:15 p.m. – David Crockett High School (684 Old State Route 34, Jonesborough)
- 2 – 2:30 p.m. – Unicoi County High School (700 S. Mohawk Drive, Erwin)
The University of Tennessee Foundation launched its UT Promise Endowment campaign earlier in the fall, and $17.5 million has been raised toward the $100 million goal.
UT Promise will welcome its first class in the fall of 2020, and the scholarship program will include those students who were previously enrolled in college when the program begins in 2020. Qualifying Tennessee residents who meet the criteria for UT Promise can transfer from any institution. UT Promise is an expansion of scholarship offerings and does not replace existing scholarships.
UT Promise will be another tool in the state’s Drive to 55 workforce development initiative, which aims to get 55 percent of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025.
More information about UT Promise is available at: https://tennessee.edu/ut-promise/.
Tags: Academic Affairs and Student Success, Featured, Randy Boyd, UT Presidents, UT Promise