Before looking deeper into the educational background of South Carolina, I think it is

important to understand the history of the state. Settled by the English in 1670 as
one of the 13 colonies, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S.
constitution on May 23, 1788. This is basic state knowledge that is needed to make
a mental time line in relation to the founding of some universities and community
colleges in the next few slides.

The oldest institution in the state of South Carolina is the College of Charleston,
founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785. Founded only 100 years after the state was
founded and 3 years before the state ratified the Constitution and became an
official state of the United States.

The General Assembly of the State of South Carolina authorized the establishment
of Denmark Technical College in 1947, making Denmark Technical College the first
community college in the state of South Carolina 277 years after South Carolina
was founded and 159 years after South Carolina became a state. The College began
operation on March 1, 1948, as the Denmark Branch of the South Carolina Trade
School System. What makes Denmark Technical College different than the other
universities founded before it is that at its inception, the institution functioned under
the authority of the South Carolina Department of Education and was mandated to
educate black citizens in various trades.

It is important to know the number of higher education institutions that are

available to students in South Carolina. There are a total of 61 colleges and
universities 29 private and 32 public institutions. In addition to those 61 colleges
and universities, there are 14 community colleges in the state of South Carolina.

Because this class focuses primarily on community colleges, I thought it would be

important to look at the total enrollment in South Carolina community colleges. The
largest community college by enrollment is Trident Technical College with 15,700
students and the smallest community college by enrollment is Williamsburg
Technical College.

Looking further into the diversity of South Carolina community colleges allowed me
to better understand the type of students that these community colleges serve.
Each of the 14 communities colleges show the predominant race, predominant
gender, and the percentage of those students with disabilities. Having previously
worked in student affairs, I think it very important to understand the many types of
students.

From the previous slide, it can be concluded that South Carolina community college
students are predominately white female students with no disabilities. This is
important to note going further into the presentation to better understand the
following information regarding South Carolina higher education.

Since 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations

Act, private employees have had the legal right to unionize and bargain collectively
for better wages, working hours, etc., but that law left to individual states the
decision of whether to give the same right to their public employees. Under this Act,
the state of South Carolina prohibits collective bargaining by any public employees,
including teachers. This was very interesting to learn, but not surprising because
collective bargaining and unions are more of a northern norm.

When looking deeper into the faculty of South Carolina higher education institutions,
I found it interesting to look at the reported percentage and/or number of faculty
members and the degrees they have been awarded. I randomly selected 3
institutions (1 community college and 2 colleges/universities). Florence Darlington
Technical College reported that 5% of the faculty have a doctorate degree, 68%
have a masters degree, 16% have a bachelors degree, and 11% have an
associates or technical degree. The College of Charleston reported that 630 faculty
members have terminal degrees (highest degree in their given field). The Citadel

reported that 179 of the faculty members have terminal degrees and 14 have
bachelors or masters degrees.

While continuing to look at the faculty of the colleges, universities, and community
colleges of the state of South Carolina, I researched full time and part time faculty
member positions. Again, I used 3 institutions from the previous slide and included
Piedmont Technical College. For 5,855 students at Florence Darlington, there are
105 full time faculty members. Florence Darlington did not report the number of
part time faculty members. For 5,703 students at Piedmont Technical College, there
are 119 full time faculty and 188 part time faculty members. For 11,619 students at
the College of Charleston, there are 548 full time faculty and 367 part time faculty
members. Lastly, for the 3,506 students at the Citadel, there are 192 full time
faculty members. The Citadel did not report the number of part time faculty
members.

Much like the state of Georgia, the majority of colleges and universities in South
Carolina are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS).

Because not all higher education institutions in South Carolina are governed by
SACS, I think it is important to learn more about other accrediting bodies. W. L.
Bonner College is accredited by the Association for Biblical Higher Education
(ABHE). Forrest College is accredited by the Council for Independent Colleges and
Schools (ACICS). Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary is accredited by the
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS). Lastly,
Clinton Junior College is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian
Colleges and Schools.

Other than SACS and Religious based accreditations, South Carolina has 3 other
medically accredited institutions and 2 law schools. The Medical University of South
Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine are accredited
by are the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). This is the only
allopathic medical school in South Carolina. The Edward Via College of Osteopathic
Medicine is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College

Accreditation (COCA). This is the only college of osteopathic medicine in South

Carolina. Sherman College of Chiropractic is accredited by the Council on
Chiropractic Education (CCE). The only chiropractic college in South Carolina. Lastly,
Charleston School of Law and the University of South Carolina School of
Law are American Bar Association (ABA) approved law schools.
South Carolina has many types of accredited schools that offer excellent education
to its students whether it be a traditional type of education, religious education,
medical education, or law education.

Much like the HOPE Scholarship in Georgia, The South Carolina Education Lottery
legislation states that proceeds of lottery games must be used to support
improvements and enhancements for educational purposes and programs as
provided by the General Assembly and that the net proceeds must be used to
supplement, not supplant, existing resources for educational purposes and
programs. Each year, the Legislature decides how lottery funds are
appropriated. Since the start of the Lottery on January 7, 2002, the Legislature has
appropriated more than $4.1 billion through Fiscal Year 2015-16. Lottery funds have
been used to support a variety of educational programs. This is a great opportunity
for students in South Carolina to earn scholarships for their education.

From this pie chart, you can see that 78% of the scholarship dollars ($3,227 million)
goes towards higher education programs and scholarships for South Carolina
students.

Besides scholarship dollars from the lottery funded scholarship program, South
Carolina has 4 types of loans that students can borrow from to finance their
education. The Palmetto Assistance loan is a private loan offered exclusively by
SCSL for undergraduate students and graduate students to supplement federal
loans and other financial aid. The South Carolina Teachers Loan is a 100% forgivable
state loan, offered exclusively by SCSL, designed to entice talented and qualified
students to the teaching profession. The South Carolina Career Changers Loan is a
100% forgivable state loan, offered exclusively by SCSL, designed to assist
individuals wishing to change careers and enter the teaching profession. Lastly, the
South Carolina PACE loan is offered exclusively by SCSL, this state

program reimburses individuals for expenses associated with the SC Program of

Alternative Certification for Educators (PACE) program.

Financial support for public higher education in South Carolina totaled an

estimated $905.3 million in fiscal year 2014, a 0.6 percent decrease over fiscal year
2013. From the graph below, you can see that there was a decrease of .56%
decrease in financial support, approx. $5 million.

There are 42 vocational schools in the state of South Carolina. Vocational schools
offer a series of courses which directly prepare individuals in paid or unpaid
employment in jobs that have requirements other than a baccalaureate or advanced
degree. Pictured below are just a few of the different vocational institutions that are
available to students in South Carolina.

South Carolina is committed to a trained and skilled workforce, evidenced by the

formation of the Center for Accelerated Technology Training in 1961. Because South
Carolinas commitment to its citizens, the economy of the state can only prosper.
Proper training from a program such as readySC or a vocational school in South
Carolina is paramount to unlocking potential employment opportunities. Having
programs like this are great for non traditional types of students.

The mission statement of readySC is to promote the economic and workforce

development of the state of SC. We provide customized training for new and
expanding business and industry in the state of SC. This training is provided at little
or no cost to qualifying companies. This mission statement really shows its
commitment to their students. The bottom graphic is from the ready SC website. It
shows that South Carolina rants first in attracting jobs through foreign investment,
according to an analysis by IBM- Plant Location International and the many

countries that South Carolinas readySC works with.

Again from the readySC website, this graphic shows the different demographics that
its program serves.

This last graphic shows the many accomplishments of readySC. From this, it is easy
to tell that readySC works to prepare its students for the workforce.

Developmental education is interchangeable with the phrase remedial education.

Based on math, reading, and writing assessments, students are either categorized
as college-ready and can enroll in college-level classes in the relevant subjects, or
they are considered developmental or remedial students and are referred to
academic services designed to raise their skills up to college standards. South
Carolina has moved all remedial classes to community colleges meaning you cannot
take these type courses at any of the colleges or universities in the state.

Four year institutions are not funded to teach developmental courses and are
expected to contract with neighboring technical colleges to offer any remedial
coursework. Each four-year institution uses its own methods for deciding upon what
student levels of learning indicate that a student is eligible for college level or
remedial work.

The sixteen colleges of the State Technical College System all use ASSET/COMPASS
as the mechanism for determining whether a student is eligible for college-level or
remedial courses. However, no two of the technical colleges use the same cut-score
in the ASSET/COMPASS for making their decisions on student eligibility

The Value, Mission, and Values of the South Carolina Technical College System is not
only preparing students of all ages for real work today, but also demonstrating a

commitment to increasing the employability of all South Carolinians and ultimately

enhancing the quality of life for all.

The statistics come from the SC Technical Systems. The community colleges in
South Carolina offer over 260,000 programs, 135,000+ of them credited. 58% of all
South Carolinians enrolled as undergraduate students in South Carolina attend one
of the 16 community colleges. 96% of all students attending a higher education
institution are residents of South Carolina.

South Carolinians that attend a community college are well prepared and in high
demand for high waged jobs. 86% of the graduates were placed in a job related to
their education or they are continuing their studies and furthering their education.

The community colleges are made up of 61% women and 39% men with 44% of

those being a minority student.

The South Carolina Technical System colleges continuing education departments
are the designated providers of training to keep our states existing workforce up-todate with changing technology and to ensure its continued competitiveness in
global markets. Our colleges offer a wide variety of training programs, including
such topics as: Supervisory and Management, Problem Solving, Project
Management, Communications, Teamwork, Strategic Planning, Process
Improvement, Lean for Manufacturing, Healthcare, & Service, Six Sigma, Industrial
Maintenance, Blueprint Reading, Programmable Logic Controllers, Welding,
Electricity, OSHA, Safety and First Aid, Networking, and Web Development

Accessibility is a key tenet of the SC Technical College System. We believe

accessibility comes in many forms and transcends just geography. The System
provides one of the states most flexible paths to a higher education.

Bridge programs are offered by all 16 community colleges partnering with the
University of South Carolina, Lander University, and Coastal Carolina University.
Bridge programs offer students many ways to transfer to four year colleges and
universities. They provide a seamless transition from one institution to the other.
This collaboration gives students program support and services designed to
facilitate the transfer process and help prepare students looking to successfully
transition to a four-year institution. Students can take advantage of bridge programs
in one of two ways. First, the four-year college to which they applied, but were
denied admission, invites them to participate. Alternatively, the student applies to a
technical college as a transfer student and expresses their desire to participate in a
bridge program. Bridge program participants must attain the GPA required by the
academic program at the college to which they are transferring. Program
participants generally transfer after completing what amounts to a full freshman
year of college-level coursework. Students in bridge programs typically experience a
streamlined transition to the four-year institution and see greater success after
transfer.

To better understand the transferring process, I think it is best to understand the

requirements of acceptance for transfer students. Each institution has the capability
of its own requirements. Clemson University requires its transfer students to have
30 transferable credit hours and at least a 2.5 grade point average. College of
Charleston requires that its transfer students have at least 24 transferable credit
hours and at least a 2.6 grade point average. The University of South Carolina
requires its transfer students to have at least 30 transferable credit hours and at
least a 2.25 grade point average. South Carolina State University requires its
transfer students to have at least 30 transferable credit hours and at least a 2.0
grade point average. Lastly, Furman University requires its transfer students to
have at least 22 transferable credit hours and at least a 2.0 grade point average.
The importance of transferable credit hours is that you can take many classes

that only count at your particular institution, but to able to transfer, the new
institution looks at the credits that are compatible to their courses. These
requirements must be met in order for community college student to transfer to a
traditional 4 year institution.

From the University of South Carolina factbook, I found the number of transfer
students that enrolled in the university per year from 2010 to 2015. From 2011 to
2015, the number of students transferring to the University of South Carolina has
drastically slipped. There could be many reasons for this slide: the economy,
student preparation, healthcare issues, etc.

In the University of South Carolinas factbook, they reported that 808 transfer
students are enrolled which equates to 3% of the student body. Furman University
lists that 39 transfer students are enrolled on its campus which equates to 1.4% of
the student body. Clemson Universitys factbook shows that 1,293 transfer students
are enrolled on its campus which equates to 6% of the student body. The College of
Charleston reports that 731 transfer students are enrolled which equates to 7% of

the student body. Lastly, the Citadel shows 108 transfer students in its factbook,
which equates to 3% of its student body. While all 61 of the colleges and universities
are not listed above, it can be assumed that they have similar transfer students that
make up their student body.