ELIZABETH CITY – The NC Promise Tuition Program – in-state tuition of just $500 a semester – will take effect next fall at three UNC System universities.

And Elizabeth City State University is poised to take advantage.

“Annually, we’re talking about in-state – a thousand dollars.  Out-of-state students, five thousand dollars,” ECSU Chancellor Thomas Conway says in the accompanying video.

“Those are huge savings to the families and those students that would be attending these institutions.  What they did in that process was make really great higher education opportunities even more affordable.”

Room, board and fees are not covered by NC Promise.  But word of the low tuition has led to an increase in applications both from across North Carolina and from Southeastern Virginia, Conway says.  So he expects an increase in both enrollment and the caliber of ECSU students.

“North Carolina Promise is going to be a success story,” he says.

Because Elizabeth City State saw a drop in enrollment for several years, “We have more bandwidth, if you will, for growth than the other institutions.  So what we’re looking at is the opportunity to take advantage of North Carolina Promise to do some much-needed growth both for the region and for the institution.”