Pastides also said he wants to brief state legislators on the idea to make sure they know that his administration has no plan to adjust the core mission of USC’s two-year campuses, economic and cultural points of pride in the communities where they are located.
“We anticipate this will be a positive,” Pastides said.
The two-year schools — USC Sumter, USC Salkehatchie, USC Union and USC Lancaster — would continue to offer two-year associates’ degrees.
Earning one of those degrees allows their students to transfer to one of USC’s four-year campuses at Columbia, Upstate, Beaufort or Aiken.
But Pastides proposes to add a wrinkle.
Students who want more than an associate’s degree but are unable to attend classes at one of the four-year campuses also would have the option of going through their local two-year campus to get a USC bachelor’s degree. Much of that work would be through online courses, Pastides said.
While USC officials have not briefed state legislators on the plan, state Sen. Phil Leventis, D-Sumter, said he thinks it moves the university in the right direction.
“I’m really excited about that proposal,” Leventis said. “It’s probably long overdue. If they get that done, that would be such a blessing for our students around the state.”
Ken Wingate, chairman of the S.C. Commission on Higher Education, said he, too, thinks the idea is a good one. But he said he wants to make sure the two-year campuses don’t market themselves exclusively as ways to get four-year degrees.
- Extron AV Switching, Streaming, and Control Systems Aid Higher Learning at Idaho’s First Medical School - June 1, 2021
- Extron XTP, Streaming, and Control Systems Empower Point Park University’s Varsity Esports Program - June 1, 2021
- Extron NAV Series Delivers AVoIP Throughout Allied Health Veterans Hall at UNC Wilmington - June 1, 2021