- A. Pursuant to Act 458 and amended by Act 95 and Act 162 in 2005, the Commission on Higher Education shall promulgate regulation and establish procedures to administer the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program. The General Assembly established the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program to foster scholarship among the State’s postsecondary students and retain outstanding South Carolina high school graduates in the State through awards based on scholarship and achievement. The purpose of the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Program is to recognize the most academically talented high school seniors in South Carolina and to encourage them to attend eligible colleges or universities in the State. A secondary purpose is to help retain talented minority students who might otherwise pursue studies outside the State.
- B. Pursuant to Act 115 and amended by Act 235 in 2008, the Commission on Higher Education shall promulgate regulation and establish procedures for administration of the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement. The General Assembly established the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement in order to foster scholarship among the State’s postsecondary students through awards based on scholarship and achievement. The purpose of the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement Program is to recognize the most academically talented college students throughout the state of South Carolina in the areas of education, accounting, mathematics and science and encourage them to attend eligible colleges or universities in the State. In order to receive a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement, all students must qualify for a Palmetto Fellows Scholarship as stipulated herein. With Act 156, passed in 2024, the Enhancements were expanded to include students majoring in education programs leading to certification and accounting.
- C. Independent and public institutions of higher learning in this or any other state in the U.S., outside the U.S. or abroad are prohibited from using the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship in programs that promote financial aid incentives or packages. Any mention of the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship in these financial aid packages must indicate the scholarship to be separate from the University that is offering the financial aid package, and reference the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship as a separate financial aid award, provided to the student by the State of South Carolina.
Editor's Note
See SCSR 44-6 Doc. No. 4967, effective May 18, 2020 for 90 days, which promulgated emergency amendments to SC ADC 62-300 to 62-375, providing high school students with an opportunity to take the ACT examination through July 2020, and to use the earned scores to meet the qualifications for state scholarships, and the opportunity to take a break in enrollment during the Fall 2020 academic term and still maintain their remaining terms of Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement eligibility.
See SCSR 44-8 Doc. No. 4972, effective August 14, 2020 for 90 days, which promulgated emergency amendments to SC ADC 62-300 to 62-375, providing high school students with an opportunity to take the ACT examination through July 2020, and to use the earned scores to meet the qualifications for state scholarships, and the opportunity to take a break in enrollment during the Fall 2020 academic term and still maintain their remaining terms of Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement eligibility.
See SCSR 48-7 Doc. No. 5273, effective July 9, 2024 for 90 days, which promulgated emergency amendments to SC ADC 62-300 to 62-375, providing institutions the ability to award and disburse the Palmetto Fellows Enhancement Stipend for education and accounting majors, effective for the Fall 2024 term.
See SCSR 49-1 Doc. No. 5369, effective January 2, 2025 for 90 days, which promulgated emergency amendments to SC ADC 62-300 to 62-375, providing institutions the ability to award and disburse the Palmetto Fellows Enhancement Stipend for education and accounting majors, effective for the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 terms.
HISTORY: Amended by State Register Volume 22, Issue No. 6, Part 3, eff June 26, 1998; State Register Volume 23, Issue No. 2, eff February 26, 1999; State Register Volume 26, Issue No. 2, eff February 22, 2002; State Register Volume 27, Issue No. 6, Part 2, eff June 27, 2003; State Register Volume 29, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 2005; State Register Volume 30, Issue No. 4, eff April 28, 2006; State Register Volume 33, Issue No. 6, eff June 26, 2009; State Register Volume 35, Issue No. 6, eff June 24, 2011; SCSR 43-5 Doc. No. 4816, eff May 24, 2019; SCSR 45-5 Doc. No. 5005, eff May 28, 2021; SCSR 46-5 Doc. No. 5053, eff May 27, 2022; SCSR 49-5 Doc. No. 5322, eff May 23, 2025.