University Offers Free Tuition To Families Of Fallen Soldiers
MEMPHIS, TN (CBS Local) - The University of Memphis is making sure the families of fallen service members never have to worry about paying for college again. The public university will now make tuition free for the children and spouses of United States soldiers who died in the line of duty.
"They're attending a school that acknowledges the sacrifices a family has made to protect their freedoms," university president David Rudd said, via The Commercial Appeal.
The University of Memphis had already accepted a $5,000-a-year scholarship that supported soldiers' families. The Folds of Honor scholarship covered undergraduate children younger than 24 and spouses of any age who had not remarried.
The college, which reportedly has tuition costs of around $5,000 a year for in state students and $10,800 for out of state students, is now going the extra step by making the Folds of Honor scholarship count for the recipient's full tuition.
"This sacrifice is remarkable and we need to recognize that," President Rudd added.
Alyssa Hill recently graduated from the University of Memphis and was a recipient of the old scholarship. Her father, Army National Guard Captain Raymond D. Hill II, was killed in Iraq in 2005. "For other people going forward, I think it will be a huge help and a huge relief," Hill said. "It will try to take some of that burden off and try to pay back some of that sacrifice."
The school's president said the new policy will become official in the "coming weeks." Rudd is also a former service member and has spoken in front of Congress several times on issues related to veterans.