The Gamecock Gateway program was started in 2012 as an access program that seeks to allow students to easily bridge their education between the Midlands Technical College and the University of South Carolina.
Participating students initially take classes solely at MTC but are subject to Columbia campus policies and guidelines, are given housing opportunities in the Roost and Bates House and are allowed access to on-campus amenities like the Thomson Wellness Center and the Strom Thurmond Fitness Center, according to the program’s web page.
After completing 30 credit hours at MTC, students have the option to transfer to the University of South Carolina’s Columbia campus to complete their undergraduate degree.
Gateway is currently only open to South Carolina residents, but the program is looking to expand and start accepting out of state residents next year, according to Gamecock Gateway Director Drew Newton. The expansion comes as the program seeks to maintain pace with the rapidly expanding Columbia campus.
“It’s a way to reinforce that the University of South Carolina is the university for South Carolina,” Newton said. “There’s never been a better time to be a Gamecock and people in this state want to be with us.”
In its first two years, Gateway has brought 325 total students into the university’s system. In 2014, the program welcomed in 328 freshmen onto campus. Though this marks a nearly 100 percent increase, Newton was adamant that the personalization and personality of the program would not be lost.
“Those structures are built because as we get larger, we think that benefits the program because [Gamecock Gateway] better mirrors the experience of a USC freshman,” Newton said. “But, we want to make sure that we honor the fact that our Gateway can be small, so we are giving you a lot more time with program staff.”
The program has shown good success so far, maintaining a retention rate of 86 percent in its first year that climbed to 95 percent in 2013.
“We’ve learned how our students operate and we learned how to set solid expectations and build a personal relationship where that expectation is reinforced,” Newton said. “We are seeing exceptional success among our students and we don’t want to lose that because we got bigger.”
Newton said one of the biggest enjoyments he gets is from seeing former Gateway students walking around campus.
“It’s exciting for me to walk around campus and know we have about 500 students on this campus that began or are in Gamecock Gateway,” Newton said. “It is fulfilling for me to walk around campus and see that we are fulfilling Carolina’s promise.”
While students in Gamecock Gateway don’t start taking classes on campus, Newton said that they are just like those freshmen with the same fears and same excitement.
“Our students may be in a program that’s different by name,” Newton said, “but their experience is no different from other freshmen and they are just as much a Gamecock as anyone else that received that ‘Yes!’ packet back in March.”
According to Newton, Gamecock Gateway is hoping to admit around 350 to the program in 2015.