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North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will launch a series of initiatives to cut costs for students over the next three years using federal coronavirus relief funds, according to an announcement Thursday.
The university will offer a series of new merit and need-based scholarships called Aggie Pride Scholarships and Aggie Pride Grants. Every student in university housing -- more than 5,000 students -- will receive a $250 housing scholarship for the fall semester, and every student on a meal plan will receive a $250 dining scholarship. The university is providing textbooks at no cost to students for the next two academic years. Students can also earn six hours of free tuition through a scholarship program this summer, currently serving 3,800 students. Emergency grants of up to $5,000 will be available to students to cover expenses related to the pandemic.
“These historic investments have been carefully planned for maximum impact in supporting the academic and personal success of our students,” Harold L. Martin Sr., the university chancellor, said in a release.
The institution has already received more than 700 applications from students for various forms of support since the announcement.
Robert Pompey, vice chancellor for business and finance, noted that the pandemic posed “severe” obstacles to students’ educational progress.
“As a society and as a university, we cannot afford to have the next generation of highly educated, well-prepared graduates slowed or sidelined on their path toward graduation and entering the workforce and further compound the negative results of the pandemic,” he said in a release. “That would hinder the nation’s economic and social recovery from COVID.”
