Volume 11 | Issue 9 - November 2019
November 2019 News and Notes

Click on the College Guide cover for your ONE STOP best source for admissions, scholarships, and financial aid information for South Carolina's independent colleges and universities!
Happy Thanksgiving
from the SCICU team
November 2019 news highlights include:

  • Student Loan Myths - Message from SCICU President and CEO Dr. Jeff Perez
  • Federal update
  • Holiday events and happenings at SCICU's 20 colleges and universities
  • Save the date - SCICU Spring Board meeting Feb. 25, 2020 at Columbia International University
  • Member college/university news
  • 2019 upcoming events
  • Business partners
Student loan myths

Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez
Jeff Perez, Ph.D.
SCICU President and CEO
When it comes to student loans, there are some big, frightening numbers thrown around, like $1.5 trillion in total outstanding debt and 45 million student loan holders. We even hear it’s a national crisis.

But let’s break it down a bit. I used data from credible.com and the federal government to work through four of the student loan myths you may hear:

Myth #1: Student loans are out of control.

Reality: Some of those big numbers you see contain graduate school loans, and those students take out the big loans because they can confidently anticipate getting paid the big bucks – average grad school student loan debt is $84,300. In fact only 6.2% of borrowers owe $100,000 or more, but they constitute about one-third of the total outstanding debt. That’s $500 billion! On the other end nearly 36%, more than one-third, owe less than $10,000


Federal Update
FUTURE Act Pressure - Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, continues to feel pressure to move the FUTURE Act, which secures $255 million in annual funding for HBCUs and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

Higher Education Reauthorization in the House - And speaking of reauthorization, the House Committee on Education and Labor passed on Halloween on a party-line vote a mark-up of the majority version of reauthorization, known as the Affordability Act.

Holiday happenings at SCICU colleges and universities
Looking for opportunities to sing carols, go to an art exhibition, or cheer on your favorite team?

SCICU member colleges and universities have all that and more going on now. Click on the school links below to find events scheduled at your favorite college or university.

Columbia International University to host SCICU Spring Board Meeting Feb. 25, 2020
SCICU's next board meeting will be held Feb.25, 2020 at Columbia International University. Dr. Mark Smith, CIU president, will welcome college and university presidents, along with our at-large trustees, at the new William H. Jones Global Business and IT Center.

The first registration email was sent to presidents and at-large trustees on Oct. 31. If you have not already registered for the board meeting, please email Shay West (shay@scicu.org) and she will send you the link for online registration.

Member College News  

SCICU curates news from its twenty member colleges and universities. Click  here  to read college news in the Newsroom on the SCICU website.

The following is a sampling of recent member college / university news:

Allen University

Anderson University

Benedict College

Charleston Southern University

Claflin University

Coker University

Columbia College

Columbia International University

Converse College

Erskine College

Furman University

Limestone College

Morris College

Newberry College

North Greenville University

Presbyterian College

Southern Wesleyan University

Spartanburg Methodist College

Voorhees College

Wofford College


Click below to access important information from each of the SCICU member colleges and universities:

2019 Upcoming Events

The SCICU Business Partners program provides a convenient marketplace in which SCICU member colleges and universities can preview offerings tailored to the needs of the higher education community in South Carolina.

SCICU welcomes the following new Business Partner:


SCICU thanks the following Business Partners for their renewals:


Directory - Click   here   for a complete list of Business Partners, or access information on individual Business Partners via the links shown below.

ABM Building Solutions, LLC  |  Acumen IT, LLC  |  Affinity LTC, LLC (Genworth Financial)  |  Aramark Higher Education  |  Argent Financial Group | Blackboard   |  Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC | Cantey Tech Consulting  |  CapinCrouse LLP  | Cherry Bekaert, LLC Church Mutual Insurance Company  |  Coleman Lew Canny Brown  |  Collegiate Financial Services (IOA)  |  Colonial Life | Craig Gaulden Davis  |  CSI Leasing, Inc.  |  Diligence, LLC | Dominion Energy Duke Energy | Elliott Davis  |  Enterprise Holdings | Find Great People, LLC  |  First American Education Finance  | Gillis Specialty Adverstising  |  Giraffe Web Design  |  GMK Associates | Harper Corporation General Contractors  |  Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd, PA  |  HillSouth iT Solutions  |  Howard Technology Solutions  |  HRP Associates, Inc.  |  Hypersign, LLC  | Immedion LLC  |   The LearningHouse, Inc.  |  MB Kahn Construction Company, Inc.  |  McAllister & Quinn  |   McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture  | Met@data IT LLC  |  Metz Culinary Management  |  Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting  |  National Management Resources Corporation  | Nephron Pharmaceuticals | P2Ops, LLC  |  Paymerang (fka AP Advantage)  |  Pioneer College Caterers Pollock Company  |  Purple Briefcase  |  PVC Fittings Online | Regions Bank | Resource Financial Services | S2K Group, Inc.  |  SC Student Loan Corporation  |  ScholarBuys  |  SEGRA (formerly Spirit Communications | Sodexo  |  Spinx Company | Stroz Friedberg  |  Tallo (formerly STEM Premier) | Thompson & Little  |  Timely MD | Total Comfort Solutions  | UnitedHealthcare Student Resources  |  USI Insurance Services, LLC | VEMO Education | Vulcan Materials Company  |  Walsh Consulting Group LLC  |  Williams & Fudge | Wyche, PA  | 


SCICU is a member of the Coalition for College Cost Savings (CCCS). This organization, comprised of 33 member organizations in 32 states, serves close to 900 higher education institutions and 3 million students across the United States. The organization and staff are dedicated to helping private higher education institutions improve processes and reduce costs through collaboration.

All SCICU member colleges and universities have access to CCCS's national contracts and services. More information on this important benefit may be found here .
News & Notes is published by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. Please send all comments or questions to SCICU President & CEO Jeff Perez at jeff@scicu.org or 803-799-7122. Mailing address: PO Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211.