South Carolina H 3871: Palmetto Access to HigherEd (PATH) Act

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3871 Text of Previous Version (Jan. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3871

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A bill

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS by ENACTing THE 
"PALMETTO ACCESS TO HIGHERED (PATH) ACT"; AND BY ADDING SECTION 59-149-17 SO AS 
TO ESTABLISH PATH SCHOLARSHIPS, TO PROVIDE THE PURPOSE OF THE SCHOLARSHIPS, TO 
PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SCHOLARSHIPS, AND TO DEFINE NECESSARY 
TERMINOLOGY.

Whereas, access to an 
affordable education is of continued importance to the state, its citizens, and 
its businesses; and

Whereas, in a 
collaborative effort to improve higher education access and affordability, the 
South Carolina Technical College system, in cooperation with the state's major 
research universities and other institutions of higher learning, recently 
reached an historic agreement easing the transfer process between two-and 
four-year institutions, thereby saving students time and money; and

Whereas, however, some 
South Carolina Technical College and two-year college students nevertheless 
encounter financial limitations when lottery tuition assistance, workforce 
scholarships, and other scholarships do not carry over upon transfer to 
four-year colleges and universities; and

Whereas, many students 
who transfer from public two-year institutions have excellent grade point 
averages, but fall short of meeting the grade requirements to obtain or retain 
LIFE Scholarship eligibility, substantially reducing the affordability of attending 
a four-year institution; and

Whereas, consequently, 
an additional scholarship source is necessary to help enable such transfer 
students to bridge the scholarship gap as they seek to attain first-time 
eligibility for a LIFE Scholarship or regain lost eligibility for a LIFE 
Scholarship. Now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the 
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the "Palmetto Access to HigherEd (PATH) Act."

SECTION 2. Chapter 149, Title 59 of the S.C. Code is amended by 
adding:

 Section 
59-149-17. (A) Palmetto Access to 
HigherEd (PATH) scholarship program is established and provided by the State to 
help students:

 (1) 
as they transition from a two-year institution to a four-year institution in 
this State; and

 (2) 
who are seeking to gain first-time eligibility for a LIFE Scholarship or regain 
eligibility for a LIFE Scholarship after having previously achieved and 
subsequently lost such eligibility.

 (B) 
The scholarship is provided to cover the cost of attendance up to a maximum of 
two thousand eight hundred dollars. The scholarship is available for no more 
than the one academic year (or two semesters if the transition is mid-year) 
during which the student transitions from a two-year institution to a four-year 
institution and is attempting to gain eligibility for a LIFE Scholarship.

 (C) 
Eligibility for a PATH scholarship requires that a student:

 (1) 
has earned an associate degree or at least thirty credit hours from a public 
two-year institution in this State;

 (2) 
successfully enrolls in a public four-year institution in this State for at 
least twelve hours of academic credit as a full-time student and earns at least 
thirty hours of academic credit by the end of the transition academic year or 
second consecutive semester if transition is mid-year; and

 (3) 
must have achieved a grade point average of between 2.75 and 2.99 LIFE GPA at 
the two-year institution prior to transitioning to the four-year institution.

 (D) 
For purposes of this chapter, "transition academic year" means the one academic 
year of full-time enrollment in a four-year institution immediately following 
transfer or transition from a two-year institution, during which time a student 
is seeking to gain or regain LIFE Scholarship eligibility.

SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval 
by the Governor.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on January 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM