NASHVILLE (AP) — For the second straight year, nearly 60,000 high school seniors have applied for Gov. Bill Haslam's program that offers eligible seniors free tuition to a two-year community or technical college.

Haslam announced Tuesday that by midnight on Monday, 59,635 students had submitted applications.

In 2014, more than 58,000 students applied.

And according to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp., 15,830 students from the graduating high school class of 2015 are using Tennessee Promise benefits this fall, which is the first year of implementation.

Haslam also encouraged adults to sign up to be mentors for Tennessee Promise students before the Nov. 20 deadline by visiting http://tnpromise.gov/ .

Passed by the General Assembly in 2014, Tennessee Promise is a key component of Haslam's "Drive to 55" initiative to increase the number of Tennesseans with a postsecondary credential to 55 percent by the year 2025.