If we don't claim our student as a depedent, why does she receive an education credit?

My student received scholarships that covered all of her tuition last year and she paid about $1800 out of pocket for room and board. She worked through a paid coop, so she made $38,000. I wanted to see how TurboTax will calculate her taxes if we don't claim her as our dependent.  It calculated full Education credit in this scenario. I was wondering why? Was that a mistake?