ACCHE/Legislative Delegation

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November 14, 2007

Joint Meeting of the Aiken CountyCommission for Higher Education

and the AikenCounty Legislative Delegation

November 14, 2007

Attending for the Aiken County Commission for Higher Education (ACCHE): Tim Simmons (Chair), Ernie Allen, Eugene Sawyer, Rebecca Robbins, Gasper L. Toole, Clarence Jackson, Joe DeVore, Teresa Haas, Dr. Suzanne Ozment, and Dr. Tom Hallman

Attending for the Aiken County Legislative Delegation: Rep. Roland Smith (Chair), Sen. Greg Ryberg, Rep. Bill Clyburn (Senator-Elect), Rep. Don Smith, Rep. Skipper Perry, Rep. Jim Stewart, Rep. Kit Spires, Mr. Shane Massey (Senator-Elect) and Jeannie Cadden.

Attending for the USC Board of Trustees: Miles Loadholt

Attending for AikenCounty: Ronnie Young

Attending for the Aiken Partnership Board: Bill Tucker (Chair), Marty Gillam, Carson Sublett, John Troutman, Ronnie Maxwell, Dr. Ed Callen, Frank Thomas, Karen Garcia, Ken McDowell, Keith Wood, Jack DeVine, Larry Ogletree, Vince Coughlin, Jan Hodges Burch, Neel Shah, June Murff, and Chad Matthews

Attending for the USCA Alumni Council: Wade Radtke (President), Rebecca Harper, Donald Miles, Gina Kelly, Polly Riede, Beverly Rapp, Billy Morris, Phillip Steven Miano, Jessica Harmon, Heather Still, Sarah Riley, Rocky Napier, Mike Findley, Tiffany Stapleton, Bonnie Maxwell, Joann Williamson, and Jeff Mastromonico

Attending for the Inclusion Advisory Council: Norman Frank (Chair), Donna Moore Wesby, Gloria Allen, Stephanie Dingle, Rosie Berry, and Audrey Ogletree

Attending for the USCA Student Government Association: Laney Wiggins (President)

Attending for USC Aiken: Randy Duckett, Mike Lemons, Dr. Deb Kladivko, Sherri Jenik, Jenny Horn, Jamie Raynor, Katy Jones,and Dr. Deidre Martin

Mr. Tim Simmons, chair of the ACCHE, called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. He welcomed everyone and introduced the groups in attendance at the event as follows:

  • The Aiken County Commission on Higher Education was created in 1961 and continues today to ensure quality higher education for the citizens of this region of the state. The ACCHEtakes this responsibility very seriously and to that end has worked with the University through the years to annually allocate the funds from AikenCounty to support capital improvement/construction projects on the campus and secure additional land as needed.
  • The Aiken Partnership Board of the USC Educational Foundation is dedicated to raising funds for the improvement of USC Aiken. The Partnership Board is led by Mr. Bill Tucker. He congratulated the Partnership Board for the more than $3.8 million that they raised in 2006-2007 to support this campus.
  • The USCA Alumni Council is led by Mr. Wade Radtke, a USCA graduate in business administration. Under his leadership, the Alumni Council works to involve the alumni in the support of the campus as volunteers and donors. In the past year, their work resulted in an increase in the participation rate of alumni giving and more than $13,000 in scholarships from fundraising efforts.
  • The Inclusion Advisory Council is led by Mr. Norman Frank. The IAC is a new organization on campus serving in an advisory role to the Chancellor to promote diversity and inclusion at USCA.
  • The USCA Student Government Association is led by Ms. Laney Wiggins, a senior majoring in business. The SGA works diligently to represent the interests of current students to the campus administration and we appreciate their active involvement.

Mr. Simmons called upon Rep. Roland Smith to introduce members of the Aiken County Legislative Delegation.

Mr. Simmons called upon Chancellor Tom Hallman to make a presentation to the group focused on “The Path to 2011 for USCA.”The presentation covered the following topics:

  • In 2011, USCA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of USC Aiken. With our 50th anniversary only four years away, Dr. Hallman discussed the goals for where the campus should be in 2011.Although these goals are attainable, the campus can’t do it alone. Making these goals a reality will require the support and funding of the local delegation. Dr. Hallman presented four major areas of focus:
  • Student Body and Academic Culture
  • The goal for 2011 is an annual enrollment of 3,700 students.
  • For 2011, the goal is to reach and maintain a 72% retention rate for entering freshmen to their sophomore year.
  • The goal for the 2011-2012 academic year is to consistently award 600 degrees annually.
  • The campus will make use of the AcademicSuccessCenter to provide academic assistance and a strong first-year connection for students.Future goals for the First-Year Experience Programs include:
  • To establish learning communities next Fall in conjunction with our new housing facility.
  • To extend AFYS 101 (Introduction to College) to a 3-credit, full semester course that all new first-year students would be required to take.
  • To create programs and initiatives for students in their second semester, completing a comprehensive first-year program.
  • Campus Framework
  • State appropriations have decreased consistently since 2001 with a slight increase in the past 2 years. Increases in USCA’s auxiliary funds, gifts and grants, and tuition increases, have helped to decrease the gap from our loss of state funds.The campus will need a 5 to 6% increase in overall revenue each year in order to meet the goals prescribed in the strategic plan.
  • A goal of the campus is to consistently increase the salaries of faculty and staff to be comparable to other South Carolina comprehensive institutions. Although progress has been made in salary inequities, there is work left to do.The campus is more than a million dollars away from being comparable with our peers.While the campus clearly cannot bridge these gaps in a year or two, Dr. Hallman said that we will not get there ever if there is not an annual approach to reducing these differences.
  • The United States is not the country it was before September 11, 2001, nor is USCA the campus it was before April 16, 2007 – the day the tragedy at Virginia Tech changed campus life forever. The campus is focused on preparing a safe campus for students, faculty, and staff. Over last summer, USCA reviewed and revised its Emergency Action Plan, began conducting drills on campus, and implemented a text messaging notification system for students, faculty, and staff. This is all being undertaken with no additional state support, but it certainly stretches our resources significantly.
  • A major need for the campus is space for classrooms with a desire that a new academic building will be in place by 2011.
  • Plans also include relocating the athletics facilities across the Robert Bell Parkway to recapture space on this side of campus.
  • Partnerships
  • In the coming years, USCA will focus on its relationship with P-12 education and AikenTechnicalCollege in order to meet the educational needs of our citizens and to become a unified voice for P-16 education in our area.
  • By 2011, USCA plans to be recognized regionally and nationally as an institution effectively engaged with P-12 education on many fronts to improve the educational attainment for all citizens of our region.
  • Fundraising is an area of significant growth for USCA in the past few years and the campus endowment has consistently grown over the past several years.
  • Of the 3.86 million dollars raised in 2006-2007, 2.11 million of that was in planned gifts and 1.75 million in cash.
  • The USCA Family Fund – a giving campaign among faculty and staff – excels each year. The current participation rate is at 86%, and is consistently among the highest inparticipation rates of all the campuses in the USC System.
  • By the year 2011, the goal is to see an average of 10% in alumni giving to match the average giving rate of our peer institutions in this area.
  • The campus plans to continue to bring individuals to campus for the purpose of educational opportunities, cultural experiences, and entertainment through athletics and performances at the EtherredgeCenter and ConvocationCenter.
  • Traditions and Campus Pride
  • As a relatively young campus, USCA will implement traditions and build campus pride among all our constituents.From the dedication of hands ceremony for first-year nursing students to the new freshman convocation ceremony, and the common reading experience for freshmen, USCA is setting traditions for the campus’ future.
  • The campus has also begun to celebrate anniversaries on our campus including last year’s 20th anniversary of the RuthPatrickScienceEducationCenter and this year’s 20th anniversary for theater.
  • The campus has increased efforts to establish traditions and engage our alumni by bringing them back to campus.
  • As part of these traditions, USCA will continue to promote the University values of high quality learning, citizenship, collegiality and character in its actions and words to students and the community.
  • Legislative Priorities
  • Dr. Hallman discussed four major needs for the campus.
  • USC Aiken’s greatest need is for increased operating funds in the amount of 1.8 million dollars. This amount will bring us up to the average funding level for all teaching institutions in SC (which is 74%). (USC Aiken is currently being funded at 63%.)These funds will be used to sustain a level of excellence in academic support for students and maintain a desirable student-to-faculty ratio. Recurring operating funds are critical to improving salaries for faculty and staff. The lack of funding has caused USCA to severely limit program improvements for students and to increase tuition to levels that will soon be beyond the students’ capacity to pay.
  • Dr. Hallman discussed a Capital Request for a NewAcademicCenter in the amount of 13.7 million dollars.The request would fund construction of a 50-thousand square foot, 2-and-a-half story academic building, which will address critical classroom and office needs for academic programs in the areas of humanities, social sciences, and mathematics. The structure would also house an AcademicSuccessCenter comprised of teaching and learning labs, tutorial spaces, and academic support offices. USC Aiken has the highest average number of classroom usage hours per week in the state.
  • The second capital request also addresses the impact of the growing campus. Additional space is needed in the EtherredgeCenter, and 6.8 million dollars is requested to fund expansion of this facility. This project will add classrooms, rehearsal space, and offices to meet our expanding Visual and Performing Arts programs, particularly Music Education. The number of majors in this area has grown more than 7% per year for the past two years.
  • The final request is to fund renovations to the Business and EducationBuilding in the amount of 1.5 million dollars.Renovations would increase the usefulness of the B&E gymnasium by improving acoustic and lighting quality, and adding a moveable partition permitting the space to be subdivided as needed.

Following Dr. Hallman’s presentation, he opened up the meeting for questions. Rep. Roland Smith, Rep. Don Smith and Rep. Bill Clyburn each asked questions about the LIFE scholarship program. A concern was discussed about first year students’ retention of the LIFE scholarship from the freshman to the sophomore year. Dr. Hallman addressed some of USCA’s concerns about changes in the criteria for LIFE scholarships. He also said that USCA is working through increased admissions standards to admit students who can be successful and have a better chance of retaining the LIFE scholarship beyond the freshman year.

Rep. Roland Smith reminded the Aiken County Legislative Delegation of their meeting on Thursday, November 15, with Aiken County Public Schools at AikenTechnicalCollege.

Mr. Simmons thanked all of those in attendance for their participation in the meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m.