Students in Patrick County will be the latest to benefit from a program offering free community college tuition.
Starting in fall 2026, Patrick County public, private, homeschooled and GED students will be eligible for the Patrick Promise. The last-dollar support program, to be applied after all other federal, state and institutional aid at Patrick & Henry Community College, will cover books, tuition and fees for county students for up to two and a half years.
The Patrick County Education Foundation and Patrick & Henry Community College announced at the college’s campus in Stuart on Thursday that the program would begin awarding funds to students.
“You focus on learning, and we’ll help make it possible,” said Stewart Roberson, chair of the Patrick County Education Foundation.
Students must enroll in P&HCC for the fall semester following graduation and complete eight hours of community service in the county for each year of participation in the promise program.
Once enrolled at the community college, students must take 15 credits per semester and maintain a 2.0 GPA. The community college launched a website Thursday with program details and contact information and will host an information session for families on Nov. 17. The event, to take place at 6 p.m. at the P&HCC Patrick County site on Wood Brothers Drive in Stuart, will allow students and their families to learn about the Patrick Promise application process and ask questions about the college’s programs.
Foundation raised funds for years to prepare for need
The Patrick County Education Foundation has been raising money for the program since 2021. The $270,000 raised to this point covers the first three years of program demand; the foundation plans to continue raising about $150,000 annually to keep the program funded.
A 15-credit semester at the college would cost a student about $2,600.
Patrick & Henry Community College President Greg Hodges announced during the event that a private estate had given the program around $79,000, an amount he said got the program “halfway to year four.”
The goal of the promise program is not only to encourage county students’ pursuit of education beyond high school, but also to boost the local economy.
“The return on this investment will be measured in paychecks, in new businesses open, in families choosing to stay, and in the pride we feel when we see our graduates leading across this county,” Roberson said.
Abigail Bryant, a senior at Patrick County High School who lives in Woolwine, didn’t know why she had been brought to the event with a small group of students until the announcement was made. “This is an incredible thing,” she said. “A crazy opportunity.”
She plans to attend Patrick & Henry for her general education requirements, then transfer to a four-year school. She isn’t sure whether she wants to study interior design or culinary arts, but she knows she wants to further her Spanish education after reaching an advanced level at the high school.
Patrick County High School principal Hope Perry said she was excited for students like Abigail who would benefit from the promise program.
“I was one of those kids who I didn’t know how I was going to get to school,” she said. “So as a parent, I’m thrilled for them. I’m thrilled for their families.”
“We’re going to preach it and try to promote it as much as we can, because it’s a great opportunity,” said Patrick County Public Schools Superintendent Jason Wood. Half the school division is socioeconomically disadvantaged, according to Virginia Department of Education data.
Patrick County program latest to offer students free tuition
Students from Martinsville and Henry County can already attend P&HCC for free thanks to the Harvest Foundation’s SEED Fund that covers tuition, fees and textbook costs. That’s also a last-dollar program, covering costs after other financial aid is applied.
[Disclosure: The Harvest Foundation is one of our donors, but donors have no say in news decisions; see our policy.]
Hodges said early discussions have begun for how to offer similar aid to students from the southern portion of Franklin County who are in the community college’s service area.
Fewer than 10% of P&HCC students come from Franklin County.
A number of other community colleges in the region offer last-dollar financial aid programs.
The Community College Access Program pays tuition for eligible students from Roanoke, Franklin, Botetourt and Craig counties and the cities of Roanoke and Salem who attend Virginia Western Community College.
Students from Giles, Montgomery, Floyd and Pulaski counties and the city of Radford can attend New River Community College tuition-free through the Access to Community College Education program.
Virginia Highlands Community College and Wythe Community College offer the Smyth County Promise scholarship to Smyth County high school students who enroll at one of the schools in the summer or fall immediately following their high school graduation.
Students from Lee, Dickenson, Scott and Wise counties and the city of Norton can attend Mountain Empire Community College tuition-free for two years.
Community service is a common component of these programs.
Some four-year schools also offer promise programs. Ferrum College and Radford University offer free tuition for some in-state, low-income students. Hollins University launched a last-dollar aid program in 2021 that catered to students living within a 40-mile radius of Roanoke. In 2024, it expanded the program to nationwide applicants.
Promise programs have gained popularity in recent years to reduce financial barriers to going to college as the costs of attending continue to rise.
The Wythe-Bland Foundation Scholarship Program was the first promise program in Virginia, according to the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. That program launched in 2007.
One of the most frequently cited promise programs is the Kalamazoo Promise in Michigan, established in 2006. Promise students who enrolled at the local community college with aid from that program had higher GPAs, according to data in a book published by Upjohn Institute researcher Michelle Miller-Adams in 2015. In addition, the frequency of classes dropped or failed by promise students at the community college decreased by half.
It’s more difficult to directly tie economic development gains to promise programs, Miller-Adams noted.
