South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities
A Voice for Independent Higher Education in South Carolina
Charleston Southern University
L. Jeffrey Perez, Ph.D.SCICU President and CEO
I’m delighted to introduce you to SCICU’s newest employee: Emma Reabold, who will serve as Vice President for Development and Campus Services.
Emma is a product of an independent college education. She attended Presbyterian College where she got her first experience in campus leadership as president of student government.
This is a new position in that it was previously responsible solely for development. Now Emma will play a lead role in ramping up SCICU’s capacity to facilitate collaborations among staff with similar functions on campuses. She’ll also pursue opportunities to share services and will be SCICU’s liaison to organizations and businesses seeking partnerships with our member institutions. And what she learns in terms of student and campus needs will inform SCICU’s fundraising.
Emma is well equipped for these duties. She comes to us from the University of South Carolina where she was Associate Director for Peer Leadership and Administration. She has extensive experience working with all aspects of campus operations in order to enhance the student experience.
In her work Emma is a proven relationship builder which will be essential to forging the trust from donors on which SCICU’s fundraising is built. Emma has also participated in grant writing, which is an important source of funding for SCICU student aid programs.
Emma is already busy introducing herself to SCICU’s campus partners, financial supporters, and other state organizations, to name a few.
Thanks for being part of the SCICU Team, Emma!
Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Labor-HHS-Education budget bill. The good news is they recommend increasing the maximum Pell grant by $250 to $7,645. The bad news is they cut Federal Work Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) by $10 million each – SEOG provides up to $4,000 in additional support for Pell Grant recipients, who are the most economically disadvantaged students.
On the House side, there is no good news. The House Appropriations Committee proposes leaving Pell Grants flat, and entirely eliminates funding for Federal Work Study and SEOG.
Our friends at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities produced the following video which underscores the importance of maintaining funding for these programs. Feel free to share this video far and wide.
The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule on overtime pay for nonprofit and corporate employers. On college campuses some employees may get paid more but they’ll feel that they’re worth less.
Currently an employee making less than $35,568 is classified as “non-exempt,” meaning they must keep track of the hours they work and qualify for additional compensation should they put in overtime. The Department of Labor wants to raise that threshold to $55,068.
So, more employees would qualify for the opportunity to receive more pay. That’s good, right? Well, not as far as many employees are concerned. They resent the prospect of having to “punch a clock.” These employees are often in positions that require additional time and travel to get the job done. For example, admissions and student life staff members frequently don’t work 9 to 5. But they derive great satisfaction from their work as professionals, and, as such, may see punching a clock as a demotion or diminishment of their status.
Of course, non-exempt employees deservedly take just as much pride in their work and are essential to the success of their campuses. But they would be encountering staff hostile to serving in the same status as they do. This overtime change could profoundly undermine campus morale by casting in a stark light the differences between exempt and non-exempt employees.
The S.C. Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) met this week and continued their bullish assessment of South Carolina’s economy and hence revenues from taxes and fees.
Fiscal Year 2023, which ran through June 30, ended a little better than the BEA expected. Because of challenges from factors such as inflation and recession fears, the BEA expected a 4.9 percent drop in revenue from the previous year. However, the decrease ended up being only 4.1 percent. While a slight decrease, total revenues still amounted to just over $13 billion.
The BEA expects the economy to cool in FY 2024, forecasting for FY 2024 a 4.9 percent drop in revenues from FY 2023. But looking down the road to FY 2025, it anticipates revenue growth of 3.1 percent over this fiscal year.
In making its predictions, the BEA noted the following questions, the answers to which will have a big impact on the state’s bottom line:
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BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. (courtesy auyellowjackets.com) — The Allen University football team registered the largest comeback in school history rallying from 23 points down in the 4th quarter to reel off 27 unanswered points stunning visiting Kentucky State 34-30 on Saturday night at Westwood High Stadium.
Sophomore QB David Wright threw five touchdown passes on the night, including four in the fourth quarter to help lead Allen to the thrilling win. Wright threw for 411 yards, 5 TDs, while completing 30 of 53 passes and two interceptions.
Wright got Allen on the board first as he threw an 18-yard TD pass to senior Deandre Ruffin to finish off an 11-play 80-yard drive and put Allen up 7-0. Later in the first, KSU got on the board as they ran a punt back 55 yards for a score to tie it at seven apiece. KSU then blocked Allen’s punt in the second quarter running it back 30 yards to go up 14-7. KSU then finished the quarter picking off Wright for a “pick six” 20-yard interception return TD as the Thorobreds went into the half up 21-7 and with no offensive touchdowns.
In the third quarter, KSU extended their lead to 23-7 with a safety before closing the quarter on a 54-yard run to complete a long drive and go. up 30-7 on the Jackets heading to the fourth. But Allen apparently had them right where they wanted as they began their fourth quarter comeback.
Allen clawed back in it by going 63 yards in 7 plays and only taking 2 minutes to get within 30-15 on a 24-yard TD pass form Wright to sophomore WR Armone Harris followed by a Beau Herrington two-point conversion. Allen’s D then stuffed KSU’s offense again forcing a fumble and giving the ball right back to the Jackets where they immediately capitalized with a Wright 23-yard catch-and-run TD pass to Herrington to make it 30-21 as he was tripped up on the two-point attempt with 9 minutes to play.
AU then got their third touchdown in the quarter as Wright’s 17-yard pass to junior WR Bobby Moore completed a 12-play 70-yard drive in just 2:39 to get to within 3 points at 30-27 with just over 4 minutes to. play. After another dominating defensive stand, AU got the ball back on their own 28 with 2:52 to play. Wright then threw four consecutive completions to Harris and Freshman WR Kenny Wilson for 11, 12, 35, and 10 yards to get inside the 5 yard line with 1:28 to play. Then, on 2nd and goal Wright completed teh comeback with a 4-yard pass to senior WR Montrell White to get the win. DB Rejai Anderson then intercepted KSU on the final play of the game to clinch it for the Jackets.
The Yellow Jackets also had two wide-outs finish with over 100 yards receiving. Kenny Wilson led with 111 yards on 5 catches while Harris caught 7 passes for 104 yards. WR Montrell White also had a stellar game with 7 receptions for 81 yards while junior WR Bobby Moore had 4 catches for 48 yards including 3 on the game-winning drive. Running backs Herrington and freshman Alan Riggins combined to rush for 83 yards on 23 rushes while Herrington added 38 yards receiving on 4 catches and a touchdown. The AU offense put up 462 total yards on 33 first downs.
Defensively, the fierce Yellow Jacket D held KSU to just 12 first downs, and only 211 yards of offense while only seceding one offensive touchdown. Linebacker Kayleb Pierce led the team with 7 tackles and 5 solo with a sack and tackle-for-loss while junior LB Justin Eaton recorded 6 tackles, a sack, and a TFL. Senior Defensive tackle Marques Sherman also led the team with 2 sacks on the night along with 4 tackles while Allen totaled 7 sacks on the evening. Also recording sacks were D-linemen Artavon Edmond and Jaheim Borden as well as LB Cameron Scott.
With the win over Kentucky State, Allen improves to 3-0 on the season, their best start in school history. Next weekend the Yellow Jackets travel to Ohio to battle Central State at 1:00 PM on Saturday, Sept. 23.
ANDERSON, S.C. (courtesy andersonuniversity.edu) — Tri-County Technical College (TCTC) and Anderson University (AU) signed an articulation agreement Sept. 19 outlining a new transfer program that will support students who are looking to advance their education in business, criminal justice, early care and education, media arts production, and nursing.
What makes the new transfer program unique is the reverse referral option.
This is one of only a few formalized articulation agreements in South Carolina to include a reverse referral option. With a reverse referral, students who apply to Anderson University and determine they are not academically and/or financially prepared to attend the university are referred by AU to TCTC to begin their coursework. The student then has the option to transfer to AU once they complete transfer requirements.
TCTC students who transfer to Anderson University have the option to complete their bachelor’s degree program fully online, on campus or a combination of online and on campus, depending on their chosen program. Both traditional and post-traditional students also receive academic and advising support from both TCTC and AU advisors.
The new transfer program replaces the Bridge to AU program that was launched in 2019. As with the Bridge to AU program, the new transfer program provides TCTC students who complete an Associate in Arts (A.A.), Associate in Science (A.S.), Associate Degree in Nursing (A.D.N.), or an Associate in Applied Science (A.A.S.) in either business or criminal justice guaranteed admission to AU. The A.A.S. in early care and education and A.A.S. in media arts production are newly added programs. Additionally, TCTC students who complete 30 transferable credits with a 2.50 GPA are also guaranteed admission to AU’s traditional program. Post-traditional students are guaranteed admission to AU with a 2.0 GPA, with the exception of early care and education majors, which requires a 2.5 GPA for both traditional and post-traditional students.
“Our mission at Tri-County is to provide students an exceptional and affordable learning experience that improves their quality of life,” said TCTC President Dr. Galen DeHay. “One way we achieve this is by partnering with institutions like Anderson University to create opportunities for our students to earn an advanced degree that is both accessible and affordable.”
“Anderson University is thrilled to strengthen our partnership with Tri-County Technical College. This relationship enables us to provide a seamless transition for students seeking to continue their education and obtain a four-year degree,” said Anderson University President Evans P. Whitaker. “This agreement further affirms our commitment to the Upstate community in helping students achieve their educational and career goals.”
Those interested in learning more about furthering their education at Anderson University are encouraged to visit tctc.edu/transferAU or andersonuniversity.edu/admission/transfers.
SCICU's 21 member colleges and universities are recognized for their many strengths and superlatives in the U.S. News … [full story...]
Message from SCICU President and CEO Jeff Perez - I’m delighted to introduce you to SCICU’s newest employee: … [full story...]
We’ve got mixed news and downright bad news regarding Congress and student aid. Senate Appropriations Committee … [full story...]
Who gets overtime? Who wants it? The U.S. Department of Labor has released a proposed rule on overtime pay for … [full story...]
State revenues remain healthy The S.C. Board of Economic Advisors (BEA) met this week and continued their bullish … [full story...]
Fall sports are here! Football fields, cross country courses, volleyball courts, golf courses, and more sports arenas … [full story...]
SCICU salutes the businesses that participate in the SCICU Business Partner program. For September 2023, we are … [full story...]
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COLUMBIA, S.C. – August 23, 2023 – S.C. Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) is pleased to announce the receipt … [full story...]
South Carolina‘s Independent Colleges and Universities are asking for your help in conveying our gratitude for state supported scholarships and grants for higher education.
Without scholarships and grants, many students could not afford the cost of higher education. South Carolina’s Independent Colleges and Universities would like you to join us in showing our grateful appreciation to members of the General Assembly for their support of merit-based scholarships and need-based grants.
We encourage you to write a personal letter to your state legislators and thank them for their support. Encourage them to invest in the future of South Carolina by funding to the fullest extent possible scholarships like Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, HOPE, and Higher Education Tuition Grants. Regular increases to these programs are needed to keep current with the rising costs of higher education.
