Group says it's a matter of degrees
Full report:
go to www.che.sc.gov and click on Higher Education Study Committee.
Improving education in South Carolina would help boost the state's economy, according to a committee studying the issue.
"Education can't stand alone. Business can't stand alone — especially in tough times," said Brad Davis, chairman of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's Education Foundation.
Davis is part of a group that's released a draft of a plan to improve higher education and increase the state's overall education level.
The committee, established by the Legislature, also wants the plan to help improve South Carolina's economy.
It held one of 10 public hearings Friday at the College of Charleston.
The group will use the comments from the hearings, and those submitted online, to revise the document. It will present it to the Legislature in the upcoming session.
The plan has four goals: make South Carolina one of the most educated states; increase research and innovation; boost workforce training; and push for more state funding for colleges and universities.
Garrison Walters, executive director of the state's Commission on Higher Education, said one of the things that surprised him most through the process of creating the plan was that "relative to other states, South Carolinians have a low understanding of higher education's connection to the economy."
Only 31 percent of South Carolinians 25 years and older hold an associate degree or higher compared to nearly 35 percent nationwide.
Although South Carolina has a relatively low high school graduation rate, the state's four-year college graduation rate is about the same as the national average, according to the report.
In 2007, 56.4 percent of South Carolina undergraduates earned a degree within six years. The national graduation rate during that period was 56.1 percent.
There's a large disparity, however, among students attending two-year colleges. Only 13.4 percent of students at the state's two-year schools graduated within three years, compared to 27.8 of their counterparts nationwide.
Bobby Marlowe, chairman of the College of Charleston's Board of Trustees and a member of the Higher Education Study Committee, said if supporters of higher education want to get more money and other resources for the state's colleges and universities, they are going to have to convince the Legislature that higher education is an investment in the state's future.
"South Carolina is not a wealthy state," Marlowe said. "If higher education is to get more, someone else in the state will get less."
Davis said the committee did a good job in addressing higher education and its connection to the state's economy.
Layton McCurdy, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, said the group hasn't included a cost estimate for implementing the plan. But, he said, not all of the report's recommendations will cost money.
He wants South Carolina to become a more-educated, higher-income state, he said.
"This isn't a quick fix," McCurdy said. "It's a long-term fix."
Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
stoney1 (anonymous) says...
It is a far gone conclusion that the more educated a society the more prosper that society will be. In our tough economic times it is imparative that the goals of education be brought to the fore front and our children must be taught more today then yesterday in the world of high tech. Keying in on this and basic educational needs will ensure that South Carolina and our country as a whole can compete globally.
November 22, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ReasonSpeaks (anonymous) says...
I suspect that putting money into higher education may not be the answer. Rather, better support for elementary and high school education will create the base needed to support higher education. You could put Harvard in SC and that doesn't mean the population of South Carolina becomes better educated. We need to create a student population worthy of excellent university education before justifying spending money on higher education.
Then we can work on getting USC on par with UNC and UVA, which are examples of truly excellent state universities.
November 22, 2008 at 7:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
bkeelin (anonymous) says...
It is a farther gone conclusion that the more FREEDOM a society has the more prosperous a nation is. FREEDOM is a better indication of prosperity than education. France, Russia and many other countries have been in financial straits and if you look at the lack of freedom and the government involvement in society you will see socialism always, and I mean always fails to give the people of its nation any chance for prosperity. The number of degrees held will not help a state or a nation prosper as much as a free state or nation will prosper. Too many people wait for the government to solve their problems and all they end up getting is enslaved.
November 22, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
guidedbystewart (anonymous) says...
"The plan has four goals: make South Carolina one of the most educated states; increase research and innovation; boost workforce training; and push for more state funding for colleges and universities."
LMAO, like this is going to happen in this State? We have been going in the wrong direction of less funding for colleges and universities, a less educated work force, less training for awhile.
bkeelin,
Your an idiot. Really the more education a person has, the more freedom they have. Whether you are a slave to the government or if you are a slave to a corporation, knowledge is power, besides, there is little chance that this country will become totalitarian anytime in the near future.
BTW, some of the wealthiest countries, Sweden, Switzerland,etc. would be considered socialist in the US, but one thing they do have in common, a highly ducated workforce.
November 22, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
guidedbystewart (anonymous) says...
ReasonSpeaks,
What do you thinking the state funding of UNC and UVA is compared to USC? There is also the factor of a more educated, higher paid Alumni, that gives at higher rate. If we had a more educated workforce, we would definitely progress. It really hurts our State not to have a Duke, Emory, or Vanderbilt, and is a significant cause of our brain drain, amongst other. Just remember NC was not that different economically and demographically after the depression from us. The only thing is that we went in one direction and NC went in another.
November 22, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Picky (anonymous) says...
Cutting off students when a person is half-way to a degree might be a big part of the problem. Apparently South Carolina Student Loan Corp. is out of money.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/artic...
We need a guarantee that when a student starts college in reliance on student loans, those loans will continue to be available through graduation or for a reasonable period of time.
bkeelin: The folks in Dubai and Saudi Arabia have very little freedom. Yet they are the wealthiest in the world. Maybe wealth comes from a combination of factors such as resources, education, personal ownership, etc.
November 22, 2008 at 1:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CNN_10 (anonymous) says...
It is sad that this state has very poor in having college degrees. As for the Dubai and Saudi Arabia in order to be a citizen, you have to trace your linage back to the Prophet Muhammad. So most of the people there are nationals or guest workers not citizen. And as for their wealth it most comes from oil and foreign investments.
November 22, 2008 at 3:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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