Five Metropolitan State University of Denver undergraduates will have the chance to win free tuition for the 2021-22 school year if they are vaccinated.

The announcement Wednesday comes nearly one week after the state of Colorado awarded its first $1 million prize to Sally Sliger of Mead through its vaccine lottery system.

School officials hope the scholarship opportunity encourages students who might be procrastinating or are hesitant about receiving the vaccine to do so and help the campus return fully this fall.

“When we set the goal for a full return to campus for fall, our hope was that our students would answer the call, get vaccinated and help us reach that goal,” school President Janine Davidson said in a release. “Our goal is now on the horizon and the Rowdy Return Scholarships are one way for us to reward our students and their commitment to public health.”

The scholarship will award up to $8,164 for the cost of tuition and fees not covered by financial-aid awards for the upcoming school year. The five drawings will take place after Aug. 1.

For students to be eligible, they must:

• Complete a vaccine-verification form, sent this month to all students via email, by August.
• Have received their first vaccine by July 19, if they indicated on the verification form that they have not yet been vaccinated but intend to do so
• Be registered for fall semester
• Have filled out a 2021-22 Free Application for Federal Student Aid and/or Colorado Application for State Financial Aid form.

Once drawn, the five winners will be verified with the state’s immunization information database before the scholarships are distributed. 

Aside from helping students return to campus, the initiative also helps carry out the university’s access-driven mission, said Mary Sauceda, associate vice president of enrollment management.

“We see students who are in that difficult spot of being just beyond the threshold of qualifying for programs like Pell grants but who also aren’t able to meet the estimated financial contributions,” Sauceda said. “Those are the students who could benefit most from an incentive like this.

“It’s always a good idea to support our Roadrunners financially, help them get their degrees and move along the path to their dream careers.”