Vaccinated Coastal Carolina students could get a full ride for a semester. Here’s how
Coastal Carolina University students who receive the COVID-19 vaccine could knock some money off their tuition bill, or have it paid in full for a semester, thanks to a new university program.
The school will enter fully vaccinated students in a drawing to receive two different scholarships, it announced Wednesday.
The Teal Nation Vaccinations Incentives Program will award four $2,500 scholarships each week for 10 weeks in the fall semester and 10 weeks in the spring, totaling 80 scholarships. It will also award two Grand Prize Scholarships providing full tuition, room and board for one semester at CCU.
Unlike some universities across the country, CCU is not requiring students to be vaccinated but “strongly encourages” students, faculty and staff to get a coronavirus vaccination.
The incentives program is being supported by the university’s federally-allotted CARES Act funds.
“I have read about other places and other institutions that are doing this but I don’t think that anyone is doing it quite as aggressively as we are,” CCU President Michael T. Benson said in a release. “We have been talking about ways that we can make our campus safe, so the board of trustees approved our putting aside $300,000 to use to incentivize students. We are pretty excited about it. And, I hope students will take it seriously.”
Students who are fully vaccinated at the university’s Student Health Services will be automatically entered in the drawing, and students who are already fully vaccinated can go to https://coastal.medicatconnect.com and enter their immunization information to enter the drawings.
Winners of the weekly $2,500 scholarships in the fall will be announced every Friday from Sept. 24 through Dec. 3 with the exception of Thanksgiving week. The Grand Prize Scholarship winners will be announced on Dec. 6 and April 28. All winners will be contacted via email.
CCU’s Student Health Services has been approved as a COVID-19 vaccine provider. The university’s students, faculty and staff can now receive the Moderna vaccine on campus free of charge. The vaccine, which is recommended for individuals 18 and older, is administered in two doses spaced 28 days apart. SHS says the efficacy rating of the Moderna vaccine is very high, and recent studies show that it is also very effective against the new delta variant.
Students who would like to be vaccinated on campus are asked to make an appointment online or call SHS at 843-349-6543.
Coastal does not have a mask policy as of Aug. 6.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 4:50 PM.
