Over the past few days, Alice Lloyd College, a Grassroots Partner of SOAR, has received recognition by both Fox Business and USA Today for the College’s unique Student Work Program and Tuition Guarantee Scholarship. The recognition stemmed from an article entitled “These Colleges Will Pay Tuition, but You’ll Work for It,” written by Anna Helhoski of NerdWallet. The rising fear among today’s college students, a continuing topic of discussion throughout the U.S., is that pursuing a higher education will leave youth with a crushing load of debt. The article recognizes Alice Lloyd College’s unique mission to assuage the fears and financial burden of students in Appalachia by charging students no out-of-pocket costs for tuition.

Awarded the College’s distinctive Appalachian Leadership Scholarship, students from ALC’s 108 county service area are guaranteed that the full cost of their tuition will be covered. ALC Students are required to participate in the ALC Student Work Program, which requires students to complete a minimum of ten work-study hours weekly. Working in various areas across campus students serve as janitors, office assistants, teacher assistants, and more students gain work experience while completing their degrees.

The Work Study Program is a vital portion of the College’s inception nearly a century ago. ALC’s Founder, Mrs. Lloyd, understood the youth of Appalachia had prime potential for leadership but lacked the financial means to pay for education. Thus the mission of ALC was born, Mrs. Lloyd made it the goal of ALC to never turn away a student because of their inability to pay. Instead, she founded a college. Now over a hundred years later, the College still holds to Mrs. Lloyd’s principals and works with the students of Appalachia to give them all an opportunity for education.

Click here to view the full article from USA Today.

If you would like to read the full article from Fox Business, please click here.