Consultant: S.C. State must enroll more high achievers
Firm working for interim president pinpoints problem areas
By Diane Knich
Interim President Leonard Mclntyre
ORANGEBURG — South Carolina State University must enroll fewer students who lack the basic skills to succeed in college if it wants to offer a higher-quality education and boost its graduation rate, according to a consultant hired by the school's interim president.
Leonard McIntyre, interim president since the university's Board of Trustees voted not to renew former President Andrew Hugine's contract last year, told board members Thursday that he formed a university committee and commissioned consultant Gary Fretwell of the Noel-Levitz firm to look at how the school has been managing enrollment and where it has been falling short. Committee members and Fretwell presented the board with what they have found so far.
McIntyre, previously a dean at the university, said he and other S.C. State staffers were concerned when last fall, more students than expected showed up at the beginning of this school year and the university didn't have enough campus housing.
McIntyre said the housing crunch was only the most visible of problems related to enrollment.
There weren't enough faculty members to teach entry-level courses, he said, so some freshmen were enrolling in upper-level courses they weren't academically prepared to take. The school also had problems with classes that were too large and complications with many students' financial aid, he said.
When he took over as interim presi-dent, McIntyre said, he charged a committee of faculty and staff members to take a deeper look at better ways to manage enrollment.
"We're going to do what we need to do so students can have a smooth entry into our university in the fall," he said.
One of the points Fretwell emphasized was that S.C. State needs to better monitor how students are doing once they enroll. He said university officials shouldn't be enrolling low-achieving students if they can't offer the support they need to graduate.
Freshman enrollment increased from 960 in the fall of 2004 to 1,318 in fall of 2007, Fretwell said.
But, he said, freshmen that enrolled in 2007 had weaker academic backgrounds. The average incoming freshman's SAT score was just 823, he said.
At some of the state's most competitive colleges and universities, average freshman SAT scores hover around 1,200.
Fretwell said that before 2003, the school was about dead center on a 1 to 5 scale of "student selectivity." A higher level of selectivity means the school brings in students with stronger academic backgrounds.
After that year, it dropped to the lowest level of selectivity. He said the average academic background of today's S.C. State freshmen was no higher than that of schools with no admission criteria.
It's important to enroll more middle- and high-achieving students, he said, because the school doesn't have the resources to give such a high percentage of students whose academic credentials are lacking all the support they need to succeed.
"You have to bring in students with whom you can be successful," he said.
Board Chairman Maurice Washington praised McIntyre for the comprehensive initial report. The board has been waiting a long time to get this kind of information from the school's administration, he said. Although some of the results are disappointing, he said, "to make good policy decisions, we need frank and transparent information."
Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.
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CHRISJIII (anonymous) says...
This can only help SCSU and the state of S.C. in the future.While I very much agree that education should be open to everyone we have to realize that 4 year colleges are not the place for everyone. Perhaps SCSU can partner with Orangbegurg Tech to help prepare those students who are not up to speed yet for later admission into a 4 year school.
April 4, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
eyfigueroa (anonymous) says...
Thank the Creator that a Government Educator finally had the courage to speak the truth about the state of govt. education. And it coming from an administrator of a predominantly black college is even more heartening.
April 4, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Zod (anonymous) says...
Early, You are dead wrong with your assertions. Our state universities MUST lower standards of enrollment for ALL races to meet quotas enforced by law. It's not just the predominantly white schools that are lowering standards. A white student with minimal effort in high school can attend SC State University for free. How many white graduates do you know from SC State? What level of preparedness do you think SC State attracts among white students? I would venture to say that they were less prepared than most attendees of technical colleges.
April 4, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ImplantedYankee (anonymous) says...
Here's a novel idea: We scrap the legal race quotas, and even remove that question from the application. We keep high standards for admission, and base admission decisions on those standards and those standards only.
The purported dream of civil rights leaders has always been a color blind society. So why are we all still so bent on pointing out our differences?
April 4, 2008 at 3:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ImplantedYankee (anonymous) says...
LCM -- once again, your overreaching hatred for the president is blinding you to the issue. Need you be reminded that SC students of all races have been way behind national averages for decades and that American students have been falling behind internationally for decades as well? Additionally, what particular aspect of NCLB do you attribute to the poor performance present in this state relative to many of the other 49 affected? Do you happen to see a special SC-only clause? I didn't think so.
While being flawed, No-Child-Left-Behind is the first step any president has taken to try to turn the tide. It sure didn't cause it.
April 4, 2008 at 3:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JohnS (anonymous) says...
I don't think removing the non reading BS degree program will boost the image of the school. It took me a long time of looking at job applications to realize that you can actually recieve a college degree and not be able to read basic english.
April 4, 2008 at 4:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
GG (anonymous) says...
"McIntyre,..., said he and other S.C. State staffers were concerned when last fall, more students than expected showed up at the beginning of this school year..."
AND
"There weren't enough faculty members to teach entry-level courses, he said, so some freshmen were enrolling in upper-level courses they weren't academically prepared to take. The school also had problems with classes that were too large and complications with many students' financial aid..."
WHAT!?! How do things like this happen at a university? They didn't know how many students were expected?!?
Sounds like there needs to be a major housecleaning of folks in the student registration/enrollment division.
April 4, 2008 at 8:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestonnative1963 (anonymous) says...
As a former public school teacher...Yes No Child Left Behind was the most .....I had ever seen. I dont use those words but you can fill it in. Second: If I had a dime for everytime one of my African American students who studied and did well was told by their peers that they were "Acting white" I would be a rich person today. I had some really good African American kids whose parents pushed them to exell...and I had some others who blamed the "White system" and conveyed that to their children and as a result...they did nothing...they had plenty of potential, but allowed the "white man's system to pull them down..and drop out. There is nothing realling wrong with the public school system in SC...but there is something wrong with the attitudes of people towards education. WE as a country have to stop blamming someone and get busy doing something about these issues instead of sticking our heads in the sand...
April 4, 2008 at 9:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charlestonnative1963 (anonymous) says...
and let me add...I to can't wait to see Jan. 20th 09 and that stupid cowboy president....if you can call him that...is OUT...and his No Child Left Behind
April 4, 2008 at 9:31 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ImplantedYankee (anonymous) says...
LCM: Don't bother trying to condescend to me. Most of the time I'm posting here to GIVE civics lessons to those taught in inadequate SC public schools -- just like the one at which you taught. At least we've identified part of the problem. Just the other day you attempted to make a connection between an East Side shooting and Ronald Reagan et al, yet you offer ME a civics lesson? Get real. I noticed that, in the list of scandals you mentioned, you didn't make note of Travelgate, Chinagate, Whitewater, Chappaquidd!ck, Monika Lewinsky, Jennifer Flowers, Whoregate (Spitzer), etc, etc. Selective memory, perhaps?
I don't support everything the Bush administration has done, but I'm certainly glad someone tried to tackle education. As for the current war, I did notice that, while Jihadists are flocking to the lightning rod that is Iraq and dying by the tens of thousands, that no terror attacks have been committed against Americans. Can you same the same for W's predecessor? Let me refresh your memory: 1993 WTC bombing, Embassy Bombings, USS Cole, Khobar Towers ... you get the point. It's also important to note that the 9/11 attackers arrived and built their network while Clinton was too concerned with the intern under his desk to notice.
I think the war was ill-planned and ill-executed, but anyone that says the world was a safer place with Saddam Hussein in power is very naive. I know that my friends who have been killed there died fighting for the right thing. The war in Iraq wouldn't even have been necessary, however, if W's father hadn't bent under the pressure of the same multilateralism that W has been criticized for ignoring. With many of our "allies" in the 1991 war threatening to leave the coalition if we pushed on to Baghdad, he backed out, and the thousands of oppressed Shiites which rebelled as our troops approached were slaughtered. It's little wonder they haven't welcomed us in this time. Thousands more were slaughtered during eight years of Billary, and his only response was a few useless cruise missiles he conveniently launched to draw attention away from his impending impeachment.
I'm not a huge fan of W, either. I can't stand to hear him speak and sometimes I think his only redeeming quality is that he is not Al Gore or John Kerry. That said, I am glad our way of life did not end on 9/11. I am glad no more attacks have occurred. I'm glad that steps were taken to keep our economy from collapsing in the aftermath and that it is stronger now than before the attacks, depite media coverage to the contrary (have a look at the DJIA). Perhaps your retirement fund reflects this? Maybe you've gotten in on more of the action than you think. I suggest you brush up on your civics, history, economics, and, since you probably have a SC public school education, you should probably work on your math, reading, and writing as well.
April 4, 2008 at 10:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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