Miscalculation Leaves S.C. $25M Short for State Scholarships

"The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education underestimated by roughly $25 million how much money it needs to provide state scholarships, The South Carolina Daily Gazette reports. L. Jeffrey Perez, the commission's president and executive director, told the outlet his agency learned about the shortfall for the current fiscal year last week. The Daily Gazette reported that the issue won't directly impact students because colleges "already credited the scholarships against tuition owed," but it will delay the commission's payments to institutions and will complicate legislative budget negotiations."

"The commission initially projected it would need $302 million and it had $2.7 million in carryover funds-but now it will likely need $330 million. Perez said 4,000 more people earned scholarships this year than last, The Daily Gazette reported. "Right now, we're in analysis mode to try to identify what happened," Perez told the outlet. "We need time to figure that out.""

"The Daily Gazette reported that the issue won't directly impact students because colleges "already credited the scholarships against tuition owed," but it will delay the commission's payments to institutions and will complicate legislative budget negotiations. The commission initially projected it would need $302 million and it had $2.7 million in carryover funds-but now it will likely need $330 million."

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education underestimated the amount of money needed to provide state scholarships by roughly $25 million. The shortfall was identified for the current fiscal year after the commission learned of the problem last week. Colleges already credited scholarships against tuition owed, so students are not directly affected. The commission’s payments to institutions will be delayed, and legislative budget negotiations will become more complicated. The commission initially projected needing $302 million and had $2.7 million in carryover funds, but it now likely needs $330 million. About 4,000 more people earned scholarships this year than last. The commission is analyzing what caused the change.

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