Columbia High

South Carolina has no statewide free-dual-enrollment guarantee and no single statewide price. The state's contribution is Lottery Tuition Assistance, which the Commission on Higher Education says pays eligible students $80 per credit hour toward the cost of tuition at two-year public or independent institutions for the current academic year, with the exact award set per term by each institution and subject to funding. By statute (S.C. Code § 59-150-360(D)) 'Tuition Assistance' covers registration charges and academic fees less federal and need-based grants and expressly excludes other fees, charges and textbooks, so any tuition above the LTAP award plus other fees and books falls to the student unless the school district or the college covers it. The SC WINS scholarship supplements LTAP to cover remaining tuition and mandatory fees for students in designated critical workforce programs, and many districts pay the balance and/or textbooks, which is why dual enrollment is free at some technical colleges and not others.

Who can enroll. LTAP requires South Carolina residency (at least one year), enrollment as a degree/diploma/certificate-seeking student at an eligible two-year institution — all 16 technical colleges, USC-Lancaster, USC-Salkehatchie, USC-Sumter, USC-Union, and Spartanburg Methodist College — satisfactory academic progress, and not holding a HOPE, LIFE or Palmetto Fellows scholarship. CHE's published rule also requires a minimum of six credit hours in the term and a FAFSA (with a FAFSA-waiver route by statute); technical colleges commonly apply this to dual-enrolled high school students in grades 10-12, but CHE's own page does not address dual enrollment separately.

Anchored on 20 public colleges in South Carolina · verified 2026-07-31.