After being delayed by inclement weather, the House Ways and Means Committee adopted a spending plan for Fiscal Year 2014-15 on February 21. The committee recommends that the Tuition Grant Commission receive an additional $258,784 in recurring state appropriations to enable the agency to increase the maximum Tuition Grant from $2,900 to $3,000 for academic year beginning this fall.

 

Next year's proposed budget fully funds the state's merit scholarship programs and directs an additional $2.6 million in nonrecurring state appropriations to the need-based grant program at the Commission on Higher Education. The Tuition Grants Commission will receive a proportionate share-approximately $400,000-of the new money allocated to CHE's need-based grants.

 

The Ways and Means Committee did not follow Governor Haley's recommendation that PASCAL (Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries) receive an increase of $500,000 in general appropriations. The committee did recommend that PASCAL be given #1 priority consideration for up to $1.5 million in excess unclaimed lottery prize money above the $10 million certified level.

 

The committee's version of the appropriations bill for the year beginning July 1, 2014, moves to the House floor for debate beginning on March 10.

 

The second major snow and ice storm of the season forced SCICU to cancel its Student Research Symposium originally scheduled for February 13 at the BMW Zentrum Center in Greer. The program cannot be rescheduled because of scheduling conflicts.  In January, inclement weather forced the cancellation of Career Connections, SCICU's job fair and interview day for graduating seniors.

 

Last year 32 students from 9 SCICU member institutions were awarded almost $90,000 for independent research projects. The results of the students' year-long research efforts were to be presented at the Symposium. SCICU has encouraged faculty advisors to find other venues where the students can present their research.  

 

Funding from the research program was made possible through generous donations from the following: Belle W. Baruch Foundation, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, Bryan Family Foundation Endowment, Joan S. Coker, Daniel-Mickel Foundation, Duke Energy, Mills B. Lane Memorial Foundation, and the South Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities, Inc. Endowment Fund. In addition, the following contributed to the success of the program by participating in a special Council of Independent Colleges Challenge Award: Averyt Management, Colliers/LCK Construction, Gregory Electric, Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd, P.A., Maddrey Foundation, NBSC, and Systemtec.

 

Benedict College President David Swinton is one of 15 persons appointed by the U.S. Department of Education to the Program Integrity and Improvement Negotiated Rulemaking Panel. The purpose of the committee is to develop a package of proposed student financial assistance regulations pursuant to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

 

The panel will address six topics that relate to student aid programs:

• Clock to Credit Hour Conversion
• State Authorization of Distance Education Providers
• State Authorization of Foreign Locations of Domestic Institutions
• Campus Debit Cards
• Retaking Coursework
• PLUS Loans

Dr. Swinton was appointed to represent the minority serving institutions community of interests. At his first meeting, Dr. Swinton zeroed in on PLUS Loans and the consequences of the Department of Education's abrupt tightening of credit standards in 2011. According to the National Association for Equal Opportunity, more than 38,000 students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities left those institutions because of the stricter standards. Other estimates have suggested the changes caused 400,000 students overall to leave or change colleges.

 

The goal of the committee is to develop proposed regulations that reflect a final consensus of the committee.  If the committee reaches a final consensus on all issues, the Department will use this consensus-based language in its proposed regulations. If consensus is not achieved, the department is free to draft regulations and publish them in the Federal Register.

 

For more information on the negotiated rulemaking for Title IV regulations, click here. 

South Carolina is facing a major shortfall of skilled, college-educated workers by the year 2030 to fuel its economic growth, according to a major new study prepared by two University of South Carolina professors. The study projects that at current rates, the state will have a shortfall of more than 100,000 graduating students with the necessary post-high school education to be hired.  To put things in perspective, that shortfall is greater than the seating capacity of either Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia or Memorial Stadium in Clemson. 

 

The study was conducted by Dr. Doug Woodward and Dr. Joey Von Nessen, top research economists in the Darla Moore School of Business. The study will guide the efforts of the Competing Through Knowledge initiative, a group of civic and business leaders seeking to enhance the state's workforce preparedness through improved higher education. 

 

Based on economic and demographic trends, Woodward and Von Nessen project that by 2030 South Carolina will have a shortfall of 44,010 workers holding two-year degrees and 70,540 workers who hold bachelor's degrees or higher. This major projected deficit - if not addressed - could cast a shadow over South Carolina's future, as the USC study notes: "The percentage of the population with a college degree is the single best predictor of a state's national ranking in personal per capita income levels."  

 

The state's need for skilled, college-educated workers by 2030 will double or almost double across the three levels of higher education cited in the report: jobs needing some post-high school work, those requiring a two-year degree or those requiring a four-year degree. This outlines a major challenge for the state's technical colleges as well as four-year colleges and research universities. 

 

Read more of this article...

 

To view the USC study, click here.

We love to post accomplishments of our members on our Member College News section of our website and feature a few of the outstanding links in our monthly newsletter.

 

Here are some of the articles we featured this month:

Let us share your news and celebrate your successes. Send your releases to Stephenie Bergen at Stephenie@scicu.org.  

 

To see all of our Member College News, please click here. 

SCICU's on-line network of providers offers goods and services to the independent higher education community in South Carolina. The Business Partners program provides a convenient marketplace where SCICU member colleges and universities can preview offerings from some of the top companies in the country.