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Calendar of Events
January 27
Finance Committee
9:30 a.m. at SCICU Office
February 5
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Capitol City Club
February 10
Executive Committee
10:30 a.m. at SCICU Office
February 15 -26
SCICU Virtual Job Fair
Online
February 17
Human Resources Meeting
10:00 a.m. at Wofford College
February 18
SCICU Undergraduate Student/Faculty Research Symposium
BMW Zentrum Visitors Center in Greer, SC
February 24
10:30 a.m. at Spartanburg Methodist College
February 26
Institutional Research Directors Meeting
12:00 p.m. at Columbia International University
March 4
Public Policy Committee Meeting
10:00 a.m. at SCICU Office
March 11
Chief Finance Officers
6:00 p.m. at Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
April 14
South Carolina Independent College and University Day
August 5
Development Committee
10:30 a.m. at SCICU Office
August 26
Finance Committee
9:30 a.m. at SCICU Office
To view more info about these meetings and events, click here |
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Declining State Revenues Jeopardize Student Grants and Scholarships  The South Carolina General Assembly convened on Tuesday, January 12. Foremost on its agenda is developing a state budget for FY 2010-2011 amid steadily declining revenues. Since the start of the fiscal year on July 1, the Budget and Control Board has cut $438.5 million from the state's budget, and has used a $120 million reserve fund. Aggregate cuts of 24% during the past 18 months-more than $1.6 billion-have reduced state spending to 2004 levels.
The need-based Higher Education Tuition Grants and merit-based scholarships like the Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, and HOPE are some of the very few programs to escape the budget knife. State funding has remained constant for the past three years as legislators have made every effort to shore up the increasing cost of providing grants and scholarships to all eligible students.
In spite of level-funding, awards for recipients of Tuition Grants were reduced by 11.1% this year because of an unprecedented increase in the number of eligible students. Lottery funds can no longer sustain a growing merit scholarship program which last year received $83 million in state appropriations to supplement $123.4 million in lottery revenue. Lawmakers and budget officials are beginning to question whether they can continue the open-ended funding of student scholarship programs in light of the severity of the state revenue shortfall.
The budget process for higher education began this week when the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee met with the directors of the Higher Education Tuition Grants Commission and the Commission on Higher Education. Both groups urged the subcommittee not to retreat from current scholarship and grant funding levels because of the additional burdens any reduction will place on students and their parents.
SCICU sent a letter of support for level-funding and restoration of monies to fund the Partner Among South Carolina's Academic Libraries (PASCAL) to members of the Higher Education Subcommittee and other members of the General Assembly. Soon, students and parents will be sending letters of support to their representatives and senators as part of a SCICU initiative that uses coordinators on each campus to organize letter-writing campaigns.
We ask that supporters of independent higher education in South Carolina write or call members of the South Carolina House and Senate to emphasize the importance of providing students with grants and scholarships to allow them to pursue higher education. The Public Policy section on the SCICU website provides the resources necessary to make your thoughts known to our state elected officials. |
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Legislative Coordinators Kick Off 2010 Campaign
 Campus coordinators met in Columbia on December 9 to kick off the 2010 student letter-writing campaign. They will work with students who are recipients of Tuition Grants and other state scholarships to send personal letters to each student's House and Senate members. The letters will thank the legislators for their support of student aid and independent higher education and urge them to continuing funding the programs at the current levels. The Tuition Grants Commission provides each campus with a list of grant recipients cross-referenced to the House and Senate district for each student's permanent residence. Last year students wrote more than 1400 letters, making the student-letter writing campaign a valuable part of SCICU's advocacy campaign. |
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SCICU Sponsors Virtual Job Fair
The first-ever SCICU Virtual Job Fair will be held February 15-26, 2010. Final arrangements are being made to use an on-line system that will allow employers and SCICU students and alumni to register and exchange employment information at no cost to either party. For 16 consecutive years, SCICU coordinated and sponsored a one-day event that matched college seniors from all SCICU member schools with corporate recruiters for face-to-face interviews that often led to employment. Two years ago, more than 40 employers and 243 students participated in the affair. As the economy began to falter, only 27 companies were represented at the February 2009 event. In spite of an intensive recruiting effort by SCICU staff and career services directors, there was not sufficient interest from the business community to justify the expense associated with sponsoring an interview day this year. Employers generally cited a lack of employment opportunities or a surplus of qualified applicants as reasons for not registering for the 2010 event. The career services directors at our SCICU schools were not willing to wait until next year to help seniors find employment. Led by Linda Jameison at Presbyterian College and SCICU's Brenda Torrence, the group turned to technology for a low-cost alternative for matching prospective employers with outstanding independent college graduates. The project, which is being financed by the SCICU Career Services Directors' Fund, will use a portal dedicated to SCICU on the College Central Network to facilitate the matchmaking. Additional information is available at each school's Career Services Office or from Brenda Torrence at brenda@scicu.org. |
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2009 Annual Report Now Available
The 2009 SCICU Annual Report acknowledges the individuals and businesses that support independent higher education, provides information about our accomplishments during the past year, and sets forth goals for the new year. The report also contains a summary of the organization's most recent audited financial statements. Mailed to Trustees, donors, and sponsors in December, an electronic copy has been posted at the SCICU web site. Request a printed copy by contacting Jennifer at jennifer@scicu.org or 803-799-7122. |
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Furman Names New President
Rod Smolla, a nationally known lawyer, author, and dean of the Washington and Lee School of Law was introduced as Furman University's 11th president in a news conference on December 15, 2009. Mr. Smolla is a graduate of Yale University and the Duke Law School. On July 1, he will succeed Dr. David Shi who has served as Furman's president since 1994. |
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Attention College and University Administrators
 The National Postsecondary Education Cooperative (NPEC) Working Group on the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008 has issued a guide to help institutions navigate the ever-expanding list of disclosures required by the law. These disclosures range from financial aid to fire safety with varying requirements on the means of disclosure and the individuals to whom the disclosures are directed. | |
News & Notes is published by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities, Inc. Please send all comments or questions to SCICU President & CEO Mike LeFever at mike@scicu.org or 803-799-7122. Mailing address: P.O. Box 12007, Columbia, SC 29211 |
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