Last year, USC President Harris Pastides offered the state legislature a bargain: USC’s tuition would freeze if the university system were to receive $10.1 million in state funding, the equivalent to the previous year’s tuition increase and benefit increases.
But the so-called “tuition timeout” didn’t go as planned, so, this year, university officials skipped the bargaining and went straight for the requests.
The highest priced subject for annual funding is the On Your Time graduation initiative, which calls for $7 million. The program gives students the choice to graduate in fewer than the traditional eight semesters.
“If there was one request I could make, this would be the most important one,” Pastides told the state House Ways and Means committee Tuesday.
By 2030, the number of South Carolina students holding a Bachelor’s degree or higher will be 78,840, according to a 2013 study by the Darla Moore School of Business.
But the employment demand will be around 141,556, leaving South Carolina more than 70,000 educated workers short.
“The one thing that we know for sure is that we will have a shortfall of baccalaureate degree holders by 2030 if we don’t move more people into college and through graduation,” Chief Communications Officer Wes Hickman said.
Upon entering their first year at USC, students can now opt to take courses at an accelerated rate, taking classes in summer and winter terms, in order to graduate sooner. However, with more terms carrying more classes, the university ultimately needs more teachers.
Enter: the additional $7 million a year to fund the program.
“I’m not happy that we have less money in state appropriation and budget combined for student education than we did a decade ago,” Pastides said, adding that only Ole Miss receives less state funding to invest in state residents’ education. Additionally, administrators asked for $3 million to fund the Honors College and almost $1.3 million to go toward the university system’s rural health care initiative.
Last year’s call for a tuition freeze came after 27 consecutive years of tuition increases — the last time it stayed one rate from year to year was 1987.
“The tuition timeout didn’t work. It didn’t play well,” Hickman said. “This year, we opted to look at strategic priorities.”
In a session lasting nearly four hours, Pastides sat alongside Provost Michael Amiridis, Chief Financial Officer Leslie Brunelli and Chief Operating Officer Ed Walton to explain the ins and outs of the USC system to the committee’s Rep. Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley, the committee’s new chairman. Most of the time was spent not talking about specific requests, but about the importance of higher education funding and its connection to South Carolina’s economic scope.
“It’s a multi-year process and a long conversation,” Hickman said. “We may not see significant changes this year, but we’re hoping for them next year or the year after.”
The university is also seeking $40 million in one-time capital funds, most of which would go toward renovating the Law School building to house the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sports Management.