Fee would allow for easier transition from Midlands Tech
USC’s board of trustees approved a new deposit fee that would allow Midlands Technical College students to reserve their place at USC.
The “Gamecock Gateway” program, a proposed residential bridge program, would give Midlands students access to USC student services for one year while taking classes at the Airport Campus, according to a document presented at USC’s board meeting last week.
“Students will pursue transfer-compliant coursework at Midlands, while benefitting from a variety of support programs and student services offered by each institution,” the proposal said.
An estimated 175 students could participate in the program in the 2012-2013 school year, according to the proposal.
While the fee increase was approved Friday, “Gamecock Gateway” still needs approval from both USC’s and Midlands’s boards of trustees.
According to Vice President for Student Affairs Dennis Pruitt, this was done so that students could officially be admitted to the program before the rest of next year’s fees are decided in June.
Gamecock Gateway students would pay the new fee to Midlands Tech, according to Leslie Brunelli, USC’s associate vice president for finance and planning.
“Midlands Tech will provide set funding back to USC for program expenses and for the dormitory space,” Brunelli said in an email response. “The $750 deposit will be reduced from the first semester fee for each student.”
The document presented to the board of trustees outlined details of the program.
Gamecock Gateway students would be housed on the USC campus and pay to access services like the wellness center, student health services and the CarolinaCard; however, these students would not pay the athletics fee or be included in the lottery for ticketed athletics events.
At the end of the program, students will be eligible to transfer to USC or remain at Midlands. If students remain at Midlands, they will not be allowed to remain in the residential program.
The program is in the planning stages, according to Pruitt.
“We hope we can come to an agreement that is beneficial to the students in the state of South Carolina to help more students get the college experience [and] get college degrees,” Pruitt said. “We still have to work through the process of putting the program together, coming up with how it will work and getting formal approval.”