How hard did SCC try to keep tuition as low as possible?
"Painstakingly," said SCC spokeswoman Cheri Anderson-Hucks.
In
April, the Spartanburg County Commission for Technical and Community
Education approved a 4.2 percent tuition increase for SCC, which
amounts to an added $71 per semester for Spartanburg, Cherokee and
Union County residents taking a full-time course load of 12 credits or
more.
Today, the
University of South Carolina board of trustees is expected to give
final approval of a 5 percent tuition increase, or $215 per semester
for in-state residents, at USC Upstate — the lowest in the USC system.
Last
week USC announced a 6.9 percent hike for the main campus in Columbia,
and, at regional campuses such as Union, a 6.5 percent increase for
students with fewer than 75 credit hours and 5.4 percent for those with
75 or more.
USC Upstate
and SCC say their costs are the lowest they could make them in the face
of another round of lowered state funding, which is expected to be
slashed by 15 percent for the S.C. Technical College System for the
upcoming fiscal year that begins July 1. SCC projects that could result
in about a $1.15 million reduction in funds that SCC receives for its
operational budget, according to Henry Giles, SCC's executive vice
president.
SCC President
Para Jones said Tuesday the college, knowing in advance the cuts were
coming, has saved the $1.15 million over the last eight months through
hiring freezes and staff cooperation in being "very, very careful" of
department spending.
"We
have done everything we can do to trim, streamline," Jones said. "I
wish you could see us in strategic staffing (meetings). It's hard to
describe."
She said staff has "done everything we've asked them to. It's just been amazing, really. It's a tough time."
USC
Upstate has done the same, spokeswoman Tammy Whaley said. The
university's state funding is expected to be cut by 21 percent —
amounting to about $2.1 million — prompting USC Upstate to impose a
$500 cap per year for travel expenses for all departments.
USC
Upstate has also implemented a hiring freeze, Whaley said, so the
university is exploring creative ways to raise private funds to hire
more faculty for the quickly growing institution.
Enrollment
at USC Upstate has increased each year for a decade, and as of Tuesday
applications for 2010-11 were up by 375 over the same time last year.
At
SCC, enrollment for full-time equivalent students was up by more than
17 percent for the spring semester, while a preliminary report showed
summer enrollment is ahead of 2009 by nearly 37 percent. With more
students have also come several new academic programs at the college,
"and it takes money to start new programs," Jones said.
The
growing enrollment for both schools, however, has also helped fund a
shortfall in state funding that led to some institutions raising
tuition by double-digit percentages, such as Tri-County Technical
College at 13 percent.
"We will not do that to our students," Jones said.
She
said, however, that with state funding currently at levels from 25
years ago, incremental, comparatively low tuition hikes have been
necessary "to keep up with technology and adding new programs."
"This is a high-performing institution," Jones said, "that is operating very strategically and very efficiently."