Higher education in South Carolina

[Spartan]

I doubt Clemson is at 25% unless that is a program specific stat.

[knightrider162]

I doubt Clemson is at 25% unless that is a program specific stat.

Well, according to one of my professors, there were about 12,800 applicants and around 3,000 admitted, that might be faulty info though.

[goodbye]

Furman University in Greenville was one of 25 institutions of higher education selected to comprise a steering commitee for the American Council on Renewable Energy's higher education committee. Other schools on the committee include the University of California-Berkley, the University of Florida, Arizona State University, Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, Emory University, and Texas Tech University.

[GvilleSC]

Awesome. I wonder what this could mean in the future?

[goodbye]

Here is a link to the release by Furman University.

[krazeeboi]

The United States is apparently suffering from a shortage of engineers, and this state in particular. To help meet the demand, USC's College of Engineering and Information Technology is launching a multi-year campaign to markedly increase student enrollment and promote career opportunities in engineering. Called "The New Face of Engineering and Computing," the campaign calls for increasing undergraduate enrollment by 30 percent to more than 1,630 students by 2010. USC is also partnering with more than 100 high schools throughout the state, training teachers who then teach pre-engineering classes at the high school level. So far, the program is working well: Pre-engineering at the high school level is part of a national movement, and USC is No. 3 in the country in the percentage of high schools taking part in such programs.

I definitely applaud USC in this endeavor and hope other schools with engineering programs throughout the state follow its lead.

[Spartan]

Who else has engineering programs? I know Clemson does...

[goodbye]

That is definitely interesting. I know that in the Upstate, we already have one of the strongest concentrations of engineers in the nation, but the number appears to be growing as new companies move in and local companies expand. As Spartan mentioned, Clemson has an engineering program, one that does quite well here, I'll add.

Edited December 28, 2006 by Skyliner

[gs3]

Interesting, as Greenville already has one of the nations largest and most prominent engineering clusters. Here is a related article:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs....EWS01/612260355

Edited December 28, 2006 by gsupstate

[CorgiMatt]

This week's "Free Times" in Columbia has an article about the USC engineering initiative, and it quotes the dean of the engineering school: "There is a second set of skills in the new face of engineering, more like soft skills - political science, ethics, business, law - in addition to the basic skills of engineering. USC's status as a comprehensive flagship, state university puts it in a strong position regionally to recruit students when compared to technical colleges and land-grant schools such as Clemson, which do not offer as broad a range of courses. USC can offer broad knowlege and broad education without compromise on the core."

[goodbye]

Spoken without even the slightest hint of bias - NOT! Of course a professor at one state university would aim to outdo a rival in the same state. That makes perfect sense afterall.

[krazeeboi]

I think the main thing is that we try to get more students in the state interested in engineering (and other professions). I don't think it's any surprise that nationwide, international students come over to the US to take advantage of the opportunities we have in these fields while interest wanes among American students. I would say that this is an indicator that the US is falling behind other countries such as China and India, but that's another subject entirely. I would hope to see some sort of statewide initiative, or at least coordination among our state's universities, when it comes areas like this.

Spartan, I know the Citadel has an engineering program.

[Firefox]

USC is also partnering with more than 100 high schools throughout the state, training teachers who then teach pre-engineering classes at the high school level. So far, the program is working well: Pre-engineering at the high school level is part of a national movement, and USC is No. 3 in the country in the percentage of high schools taking part in such programs.

I will agree USC is really getting into the high school level at my former high school Sumter High School, we had 4 classrooms that where made just for USC during our building expansions back in 2003-2005, Clemson tired to get into my school but never funded it enough to get there own classroom so Central Carolina got the classroom. The classes were Univ 101, English 101, Math 111, Eng 101, Computer Science 101, and Math 121

Edited December 29, 2006 by Firefox

[Spartan]

We had classes like that through USCS at my high school... though engineering was not there.

[CorgiMatt]

Spoken without even the slightest hint of bias - NOT! Of course a professor at one state university would aim to outdo a rival in the same state. That makes perfect sense afterall.

I guess symphonies aren't the only things over which people have biases. Not to get off topic, but your point is well taken.

[goodbye]

[krazeeboi]

It appears as though students in SC buck the national trend in terms of choosing a college to attend after high school. More students, including top students, are choosing to go to an in-state school. I guess I myself would fit into the category of students they're talking about, as my first choice was Emory and I did get accepted; however, the major reason why I didn't go was money and not due to a family tradition of attending an in-state school.

[sonofaque86]

Because we have the Life Scholarship which basically pays your tuition beside your room & board. And I'm guessing with rising tuition and books its just cheaper to go in state

Edited January 22, 2007 by sonofaque86

[crescentmoon]

Because we have the Life Scholarship which basically pays your tuition beside your room & board. And I'm guessing with rising tuition and books its just cheaper to go in state

It is my family's experience that the "rising tuition" for mention in your second sentence pretty much negates your first sentence.

[GvilleSC]

President Barker of Clemson University sent the student body and faculty an email about his recent presentation of Clemson's budget requests to the Higher Education Subcommittee of the South Carolina House Ways and Means Committee.

Here was some things that I thought were interesting:

Our final request for recurring funding is for $1.5 million for the South Carolina Light Rail, to provide a premier network to connect universities, research institutions, and Health Sciences South Carolina partners to enhance collaboration and make us more competitive for federal and other external funding.

This year's double-digit increase in applications is a mandate for quality from high school students and their parents. The 700 jobs at CU-ICAR is a mandate from our economic development partners. The $60 million we generated in private gifts is a mandate from our alumni and friends. The $135 million in competitively awarded grants and contracts our faculty received last year is a mandate. It's a mandate when 9 out of 10 South Carolinians surveyed, say it's important for this state to have a top-tier research university.

[Spartan]

What is this light rail thing? I've never heard anything like that come out of Clemson before (or anywhere else for that matter).

[GvilleSC]

Clemson turned down recruits due to accademic reasons. Even UNC would take them. It's frustrating in a sense, but at the same time I think it's a noble move on the university's part. Clemson may reach top 20 status before too long

The State

Edited February 9, 2007 by GvilleSC

[whitehourseview]

Clemson turned down recruits due to accademic reasons. Even UNC would take them. It's frustrating in a sense, but at the same time I think it's a noble move on the university's part. Clemson may reach top 20 status before too long

The State

I'm highly disappointed at the process and the reasoning behind the AARC committee set up at Clemson. Barker had some fairly poor reasoning to defend it last night at the National IPTAY meeting in Columbia. This is causing some serious rifts in the academic and athletic communities at Clemson and may bring some folks down before it's over with.

[Spartan]

I agree. I have yet to hear a convincing arguement for Clemson's actions here. I understand what they did, but I don't agree with it- especially since he got accepted at North Carolina, which generally has higher standards than Clemson. There is no point in shooting yourself in the foot... its not like the football team will hold it back from the 'top 20' status.

[CorgiMatt]

USC President Andrew Sorenson says people are putting their money where their mouth is to help USC attain its goal of becoming one of the nation's top public universities. The amount of money received in private donations is up 57% over this time last year, and the number of donors has increased by 11%.

Here's the article: http://uscnews.sc.edu/ADMN044.html

By the way, last year was a record-breaking year in private donations.

Edited February 10, 2007 by CorgiMatt