Workforce Pell in South Carolina: Quarterly SCWOS Window Opened October 1, 24 Occupations

South Carolina takes Workforce Pell applications in quarterly windows, and the fall window opened October 1, 2026. Under State Instruction 25-18, which took effect July 1, 2026, the window opens on the first business day of each quarter and stays open for 15 business days. Providers apply through SC Works Online Services with a provider attestation form.

Governor McMaster designated the Department of Employment and Workforce to implement Workforce Pell in July 2026. Programs are judged against a 24-occupation eligible list, and a program outside it has no path. No approved programs have been posted.

Fifteen business days is a short window. A provider that has not assembled the attestation and the outcome record before a window opens is likely to be filing in the next quarter instead.

Tracker status: South Carolina is accepting or reviewing program applications, as of Oct 1, 2026. The national tracker carries every state.

South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW), with final determinations by the Coordinating Council for Workforce Development Executive Committee. DEW runs the process through SCWOS, the same system that carries the SC Works job-seeker records and the state ETPL. The SC Works Management Committee of the State Workforce Development Board and a Coordinating Council for Workforce Development working group review applications, and the CCWD Executive Committee makes the final determinations.

State Instruction 25-18 is the governing document. It sets the quarterly window and the attestation an institution signs when it submits. A program that clears the state still goes to the U.S. Department of Education before any student can receive funds.

The fall window opened October 1, 2026 and runs 15 business days. After it closes, the next window opens on the first business day of the following quarter.

Review runs through the SC Works Management Committee and the CCWD working group, then the CCWD Executive Committee makes the determination, and federal review follows. First enrollment under a South Carolina determination is unlikely before spring 2027.

Programs leading to one of the 24 eligible occupations that meet the federal floors: 150 to 599 clock hours, 8 to 15 weeks, a recognized credential, and the 70 percent completion and 70 percent placement thresholds. The provider attestation form commits the institution to the thresholds and the reporting.

Because the list is short, the first question for any program is whether its SOC code is on it. The second is whether the institution can document the placement rate it is attesting to.

The 70/70 thresholds guide covers how completion and placement are measured, and the final rule guide covers the federal floors every state applies.

Check the program against the 24-occupation list before anything else. Off the list means out. DEW publishes the list on the SC Works Workforce Pell page.

Submit through SCWOS while the October window is open. The window opened October 1, 2026 and stays open for 15 business days. A file that is not ready waits for the next quarter.

Document the placement record the attestation commits you to. The attestation is a promise; the reviewer will want to see the last cohort's verified placements behind it.

The reviewer's bar in every state is a defensible outcome record. See outcome verification software for the mechanics and the South Carolina WIOA guide for how the ETPL and training accounts work alongside Workforce Pell today.

Sources for this page, from the state tracker. Primary sources are the agency, governor, or legislature; secondary sources are reporting or third-party trackers.

• SC Works: Workforce Pell (last modified Jul 30, 2026)
• State Instruction 25-18: Eligible Workforce Pell Programs
• DEW: DEW Implements Workforce Pell

For the national picture across all 52 jurisdictions, see the Workforce Pell status page, last refreshed October 2, 2026.