A university in Tennessee says it intends to offer a free college education to the children and spouses of military personnel killed or seriously wounded in action, according to media outlets in Memphis.
Starting this fall, the University of Memphis will admit such students at no charge, with the help of scholarship dollars, reported TV station WMC.
The financial aid is coming through an expansion of the decade-old Folds of Honor program, a nonprofit that offers $5,000 scholarships to dependents and spouses of the military.
Folds of Honor officials told the Commercial Appeal that they have been seeking colleges to accept its $5,000 scholarships as “payment-in-full” and the University of Memphis was the first to agree.
The scholarship is available to dependents of service personnel under the age of 24, and military spouses of any age, as long as they haven’t remarried, says the Folds of Honor website.
University officials told WHBQ that they will make up the $10,000 difference in costs per student through other scholarships.
The idea of the scholarship was presented in March to the university’s board and received “resounding approval,” with details to be worked out later, reported the Commercial Appeal.
“This sacrifice is remarkable and we need to recognize that,” University of Memphis President David Rudd told the newspaper.
A university spokesperson told FOX13 that there may be a cap on how many scholarship recipients will be admitted, and only Tennessee residents can qualify.
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