South Carolina State University recently announced it will delete nine academic programs following a review of program enrollment, graduation rates, and state requirements.
“Ultimately, we believe these actions are in the best interests of our students, the university, and the taxpayers of South Carolina,” reads a statement from President Alexander Conyers and Interim Provost Louis Whitesides. “They also will position SC State to invest its resources strategically and develop new academic programs aligned with emerging workforce needs and career opportunities.”
Eight of the cut programs have been out of compliance with the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education standards for enrollment and graduation rates for more than 10 years. Across South Carolina public universities, the average rate of academic programs meeting those standards is 77 percent. For SC State, their rate is just 37 percent — the lowest in the state. However, deleting these programs will increase the HBCU’s compliance rate to 51 percent.
Four of the eight programs — business education, technology education, dramatic arts education, and professional land surveying — enroll zero students. The other four programs — arts education, social studies education, middle-level education, and mathematics — enroll a combined 29 students. The ninth cut program, mechanical engineering technology, will be phased out, as the HBCU now offers a full mechanical engineering degree. Additionally, the HBCU has closed more than 200 course sections that had fewer than 10 students enrolled.
The HBCU will teach out the five cut programs that have students enrolled, allowing the students to graduate in the programs they entered. Although the nine degrees will be phased out, many of the classes associated with those programs — particularly, mathematics courses — will still be offered, as they are essential to other degrees and the university’s core curriculum.
According to President Conyers and Dr. Whitesides, 20 additional programs are out of compliance with state standards. Faculty and administrators will partner together to determine the best path forward for each degree.
“Academic programs are more than numbers. They represent the work of faculty members, the aspirations of students and, in many cases, decades of SC State history” said President Conyers and Dr. Whitesides. “We understand the significance of these decisions and the concerns they may generate. Our responsibility is to honor that history while making thoughtful decisions about SC State’s future. We remain committed to supporting our students through these transitions, engaging our faculty in the work ahead and maintaining a strong, relevant academic portfolio that prepares our graduates to compete and succeed.”
