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Calendar of Events
2012-2013
August 9
Development Committee Meeting at SCICU Office, 10:30 a.m.
August 22
Finance Committee Meetings at SCICU Office, 9:30 a.m.
September 3
Office Closed for Labor Day
Holiday
September 12
Executive Committee Meeting at SCICU Ofice 10 a.m.
September 21
Career Services Directors Meeting at SCICU Office 10:30 a.m.
September 21
Institutional Research Directors Meeting at CIU 12 p.m.
October 11
Board of Trustees Meeting at Benedict College 10:30 a.m.
November 14
Public Policy Committee Meeting at SCICU Office 10 a.m.
To view more info about these meetings and events, click here
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Business Partners:
ABM Building Services, LLC
Affinity LTC, LLC
Aramark
AT&T
Bank of America
Benefit Controls of the Carolinas
Benefit Controls of the Midlands, Inc.
CapinCrouse LLP
Carroll Campus Development
Catastrophe Services, Inc.
Chase Bank
CMD Outsourcing Solutions
Coleman Lew & Associates, Inc.
CSI Leasing, Inc.
Daniels Group - Greenville SC Office
Delta Dental
Edvance360 LMS-SN
Elliott Davis, LLC
Expense Reduction Analysts
First American Education Finance (FAEF)
Frank A. Casagrande Consulting, LLC
Genworth Financial
Gillis Specialty Advertising
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd
HRP Associates
Learning House
Liberty Mutual
Live2Create Interactive, Inc.
MXN Corporation
Myers McRae
Palmetto Electronics, Inc.
Pollock Company
PrimeTRUST Advisors
Provista
Sallie Mae
ScholarBuys
Sodexo
TD Bank, N.A.
Total Comfort Soluions
Vulcan Materials
Wyche Law Frim
Click here to view a full listing of SCICU Business partners...
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Private College Purchasing Coalition:
The Coalition for College Cost Savings is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping SCICU members reduce and contain costs through collaboration. |
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PASCAL Receives $1.25 million in Lottery Funds
 In July, the Commission on Higher Education received an appropriation of $1.25 million in excess unclaimed lottery prize funds for the support of the Partnership Among South Carolina Academic Libraries statewide electronic library program. These funds were authorized by the General Assembly in the budget for FY 2011-12. The legislature authorized the first $1.5 million for PASCAL once the unclaimed lottery prize fund exceeded $12.45 million. The threshold was reached in the last month of the fiscal year, with PASCAL receiving these funds before the account was closed.
Getting increased funding for PASCAL has been a legislative priority of SCICU since recurring state appropriations to the program were stopped in 2008 as part of a massive reduction in state spending. The 2012-2013 state budget places PASCAL in the same position relative to excess unclaimed prize money. If spending on the state lottery continues at current levels, PASCAL will be in line to receive up to $1.5 million in July 2013. PASCAL is a partnership of public and private academic libraries at higher education institutions in South Carolina. These one-time funds will enable PASCAL to expand content access through a combination of creative one-time purchases and/or multi-year licenses for materials that were previously cut, as well as to modernize elements of its discovery and delivery infrastructure in order to improve the scope of services and increase efficiencies in academic library operations. This funding presents an opportunity to begin a discussion about shifting the focus from shared access to member collections towards one that conceives of the state's academic library holdings as a single shared collection, with greater emphasis on enterprise solutions to selection, access, cataloging and conservation for both print and electronic monographs as well as journal content. Concepts emphasizing collections-based collaboration are emerging as best-practices in a number of forward-thinking library networks. All SCICU members participate and benefit from the PASCAL consortium. Sandra Hughes, Director of the Library at Charleston Southern University, is the chair of the PASCAL Board of Directors for 2012-2013, and Alexa Bartel, Director of the Library at Coker College, is the treasurer. Dave Chatham at Presbyterian College and Lori Hetrick at Limestone College serve as board members.
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Tuition Grants Commission Announces Increase
Earl Mayo, executive director of the SC Tuition Grants Commission, announced on Tuesday that the maximum tuition grant will be increased by $100 to $2,800 for the 2012-2013 academic year. The increase is made possible by more than $2 million in one-time lottery funds appropriated by the General Assembly in the FY 2013 state budget.
Strong and consistent advocacy efforts by SCICU and friends and supporters of independent higher education helped to position the Commission for the additional lottery funds. This is the first increase to the Commission's base funding in more than four years.
The tuition grants program provides need-based scholarships to South Carolina residents who attend a South Carolina independent college or university. More than 14,400 students are expected to receive grants this year.
The 2011-2012 maximum award of $2,600 was already slated to move to $2,700 in 2012 -2013 through the use of unobligated carry-forward monies. The additional lottery appropriations will increase the maximum to $2,800 annually beginning with the fall 2012 semester.
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SCICU Distributes $36,000 in UPS Scholarships to South Carolina Private Colleges
SCICU has distributed $36,000 in UPS Scholarships to 15 need-based students at private colleges and universities in the state. The $2,400 scholarships were made possible by a grant from the UPS Educational Endowment Fund administered by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) in Washington, DC. Nationally, CIC and the UPS Foundation teamed up to provide nearly  $1.45 million in student scholarships this year which will be distributed through state-based private college associations around the country. Colleges in South Carolina that received UPS Scholarships this year from SCICU include Anderson University, Charleston Southern University, Coker College, Columbia College, Columbia International University, Converse College, Erskine College, Furman University, Limestone College, Newberry College, North Greenville University, Presbyterian College, Southern Wesleyan University, Spartanburg Methodist College, and Wofford College. The UPS EducationalEndowment Fund, which is held and administered by CIC, was initiated through endowment gifts from the UPS Foundation totaling $4 million and is now valued at $36 million. Since its inception, this fund has awarded over $50 million in scholarship support to over 16,000 students nationwide. To read more, please click here. |
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Annual Meeting Set for October 11
 The annual meeting of the SCICU Board of Trustees will be held at 10:30 a.m., October 11 on the campus of Benedict College in Columbia. During the course of the meeting, new board members will be elected, committee chairs will give their year-end reports, and the operating budget for FY 2012-2013 will be presented for consideration. At the luncheon following the meeting, the recipients of SCICU's McLean and Smith scholarships will be recognized and honored.
Trustees, make your plans to attend. Additional information will be sent to you in the coming weeks.
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Website Updated, Say It With Pictures
The SCICU website was tweaked earlier this summer to add pictures from some of the organization's events such as the Excellence in Teaching Dinner, Research Symposium, Campus Tour, and Career Connections. The Photo Gallery link at the top of the SCICU Home Page provides access to the collection of photographs.
Other improvements include the relocation of the Business Partners link to a more prominent and central location on the home page. The growing interest and demand for goods and services provided by our business partners led us to move the link to a more central location.
To help better navigate the site, additional drop down menus were added to the site's main headings at the top of the home page. In addition, a description of SCICU's many programs was added under the About heading. The banner color was changed from bright yellow to the same gold color that we use for the SCICU logo.
The Advocacy section of the home page was reworked to feature on the front page up to three of the most prominent bills that we track during the legislative session. A direct link to all the bills also was added.
Traffic to the SCICU website increases every month. We welcome your suggestions for improving the experience for members and visitors alike.
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 With the approach of the end of SCICU's fiscal year on August 31, it's not too late to make a gift. SCICU raises funds for scholarships, research, the unrestricted campaign, and other areas to promote teaching and learning and collaborative efforts among the member colleges. If you have already made your gift, please accept our "thanks" for your support. If you have not, please help us reach our established goals by making your gift today. Mail your checks payable to SCICU to PO Box 12007, Columbia, SC, 29211, or go to www.scicu.org to make an on-line gift. All gifts are tax deductible. Contact Edd1e Shannon at 803-799-7122 or eddie@scicu.org if you have any questions.
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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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