SPARTANBURG, S.C. (courtesy smcsc.edu) — Spartanburg Methodist College has announced it has exceeded a goal to grow its student body to 1,000 by 2020. 1,025 full-time new, returning and transfer students are enrolled at SMC this fall, and they are the largest student population in the college’s 109-year history.

This is the fourth straight year of record enrollment growth at the college and a 39 percent increase in study body size since 2016, when enrollment dropped to 736 full-time students.

That same year, President Scott Cochran, who had been in his new role for just a few months, announced the college would grow to 1,000 students by 2020. As a first step, he made immediate investments in marketing and recruitment. Working with faculty, administrators and the college’s Board of Trustees, Cochran led planning to expand the college’s academic offerings to meet changing student needs. In 2018, the college announced it would launch its first online associate degree and a unique on-ground bachelor’s degree with a focus on career preparation. Both programs began enrolling students in 2019. This fall, the college began accepting students into a second 100% online degree – an Associate in Arts (general college studies program).

“The most important thing for everyone at SMC has always been serving the students who depend on us for an affordable and high-quality education,” Cochran said. “Accomplishing this enrollment goal is an important milestone for our campus community after four years of incredibly hard work and significant change. In the middle of a global pandemic, we’re just as proud that students and parents have placed their trust in us to provide that education as safely as possible.”

Fall classes began on August 19 after a phased move-in to campus residence halls. Students, staff and faculty follow a rigorous set of safety protocols that include required mask use, daily symptom checks and social distancing. Resident and commuter students taking in-person classes also must be tested weekly for COVID-19.

When planning to reopen, administrators not only considered the needs of students who wanted in-person classes, but also those who might not want to return to campus due to fears about COVID-19, says Ben Maxwell, Vice President for Enrollment. “We knew some students would feel more comfortable staying home or might have no choice but to stay home due to illness or quarantine,” he says. “We didn’t want their education interrupted this semester and felt certain giving them the choice of in-person or online was the right thing to do. Students have the option of taking their fall classes either way.”

To serve students face-to-face and virtually, faculty spent a good portion of their summers preparing fall courses for online and in-person delivery. Dr. Mark Gibbs, Provost and Executive Director of Academic Affairs, says many professors spent countless hours filming video lectures, navigating an unfamiliar virtual learning environment, and planning courses that students could access in-person, online or, in some cases, both. “Our safety plan includes social distancing in our classrooms, so we’re seating about half the normal number of students at any given time,” he said. “We have students learning in a traditional classroom on some days and online on others. And some students who are online for the entire semester. Our faculty have worked very hard to meet the needs of all students.”

For sophomore David Hawkins of Spartanburg, living on campus is worth the safety restrictions. “It’s good to be back on campus again, and I’m glad SMC has guidelines to keep us safe while also giving us a bit of normalcy,” he said. “It’s easier for me and many others to learn in the classroom, so having some classroom time and being able to stay on campus to help me focus has been an immense blessing.”

A look at the numbers, which do not include students enrolled in SMC’s 100% online degree programs:

• 518 freshmen started classes on Wednesday, August 19 – the largest freshman class in the college’s history.
• The new freshmen, plus re-admitted students and transfer students, make up the largest incoming class in the college’s history (563).
• 91 students are enrolled in the college’s year-old BA program.
• SMC’s total student body is 1,025, the largest in the history of the college.

CENTRAL, S.C. (courtesy swu.edu) — Recognizing an increasing need for quality leadership in early childhood education, Southern Wesleyan University is now offering an online bachelor of science degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies Management.

This new degree program is a collaboration of Southern Wesleyan’s School of Education and Benson School of Business.

This interdisciplinary program blends theory and practice of early childhood development with solid business concepts for those preparing for careers in child and family management, including childcare management and childcare services. Other possible careers include adult development and aging, senior living facilities management and family and community services.

Southern Wesleyan University awards a 10% scholarship to employees of the South Carolina Head Start Association, Goodwill Industries, Pickens County, Blue Cross Blue Shield of South Carolina and other organizations. The bachelor of science in Early Childhood and Family Studies Management, however, doesn’t lead to a teacher certification or a teaching degree.

For details about the online bachelor of science degree in Early Childhood and Family Studies Management, contact Southern Wesleyan University at 877-644-5556, email admissions@swu.edu, or visit swu.edu.

Southern Wesleyan University is a Christ-centered, student-focused learning community devoted to transforming lives by challenging students to be dedicated scholars and servant-leaders who impact the world for Christ. For details about degree programs, go online to swu.edu.

CLINTON, S.C. (courtesy presby.edu) — “College students have traditionally voted at one of the lowest rates of any group in the United States,” according to an Los Angeles Times op-ed published earlier this year.

Trinity Williams, a junior political science major, is looking to change that on the PC campus by leading a non-partisan voter registration campaign.

“That college students historically vote at low rates is insane because we are the future of America,” Williams said. “College students have the loudest voices in society but the quietest in voter registration.”

Encouraging students to vote

The voter registration campaign began when Williams and members of PC’s student chapter of the NAACP handed out voter registration forms at a Welcome Week event on August 16. They also distributed information about how to vote and how to vote by mail.

Williams will lead a voter registration workshop on campus in September. NAACP student chapter members, along with members of the League of Women Voters of Greenville County, will help students register to vote and talk to them about the absentee ballot.

“We’ll also focus on John Lewis’ ‘Good Trouble’ as he was an advocate for voting,” Williams said. “Overall, the film will be a tool for voter registration education for college students.”

Williams, a writer for The BlueStocking college newspaper, plans to run a series on the importance of voting.

“I’ll interview students about why it is important to vote for them,” she said. “I believe when students see their peers vote, it encourages them to do so as well.”

“My right to vote”

Williams plans to attend law school after graduating from PC. She’s learned about the importance of voting in classes like Introduction to American Government, Introduction to Political Analysis, and The American Presidency and says voting is very personal to her.

“As a woman, college student, and African-American, it has always been apparent that my voice and my vote matters,” Williams said.

“Obviously, women and African-Americans have not always been able to vote in American history, so it is vital that I use my right to vote as many of my ancestors fought for me to do so.”

Get involved at PC

PC students, like Trinity, get involved on campus by taking part in causes and in organizations they’re passionate about. Check out Political Science and the Get Involved page to learn more about opportunities available to you.

SUMTER, S.C. (courtesy The Sumter Item) — The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Morris College a $1.7 million Student Support Services Grant for supporting Morris students over the next five years.

“These funds will be most helpful in enriching academic experiences for many Morris College students, as well as helping them to realize their career goals,” said Morris College President Leroy Staggers.

The Student Support Services Program grant, funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, will help the college provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements, and to motivate students toward the successful completion of their post-secondary education. In some cases, grant aid in the form of cash payments may be awarded to participating students.

Services provided through the Student Support Services Program, directed by Joseph Jones, include academic tutoring, advising and assistance in course selection, financial literacy, assistance in completing financial aid applications, group and individualized counseling for personal, career and academic matters, along with exposure to cultural events and academic programs not usually available to disadvantaged students.

The grant will enable Morris College to continue providing academic and other support services to low-income, first-generation and students with disabilities to increase students’ retention and graduation rates.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (courtesy furman.edu) — Daniela Mesa ’17 is working toward her Ph.D. at Purdue University. But that might not have come to pass without the support – financial, relational and academic – that she received at Furman.

Mesa is a first-generation college student who received a scholarship as part of a $600,000 National Science Foundation S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) award granted to Furman from 2012-18. The program makes a STEM degree accessible for academically strong students who are eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant.

“From a financial perspective, it made Furman accessible to me,” Mesa said.

Furman has been awarded a new $1 million S-STEM grant for 2020-25. Among other components, the award will provide renewable scholarships for 24 high-merit, high-need students seeking bachelor’s degrees in chemistry, biology, neuroscience or the geosciences.

These SOAR (Science Opportunities, Activities and Research) Scholars will receive up to $10,000 per year in scholarship support, renewable for four years. The first iteration of the program at Furman resulted in a 100% four-year graduation rate (90% at Furman), with 96% completing a degree in a STEM or an allied field.

The project is led by principal investigator John Wheeler, associate provost for integrative science and professor of chemistry at Furman, along with co-principal investigators Benjamin Haywood, assistant director of the Faculty Development Center, John Kaup, director of science education, and Michelle Horhota, associate dean of mentoring and advising and associate professor of psychology.

Because the program groups students as cohorts and provides ongoing support, relationships develop that provide a holistic approach to helping them succeed.

“I’m not sure I would be in graduate school right now if I hadn’t gone to Furman and had the one-on-one with my professors that I did,” Mesa said.

That level of community is intentional.

“This particular grant is also focused on supporting faculty in STEM fields and developing effective pedagogies for students that we know historically are underrepresented in those fields,” Haywood said.

While much of the funding is for scholarships, Haywood said the other piece of the puzzle comes in helping Furman find better ways to help those students once they are on campus.

“So much of the research shows that access is certainly very important,” he said, “but you also have to provide those students with the toolkit they need and the resources they need to be successful in higher education environments.”

That begins with SAFE (Start an Amazing Furman Experience) Passage, a unique, immersive experience during the summer prior to the start of the students’ first year.

“They participate in mock classes, in some AI-based review and training in precalculus to prepare them for their calculus courses,” said Wheeler. “They have enhanced advising experiences.”

Michael Turlington ’16, who received a scholarship as part of the S-STEM program, is now a graduate student in chemistry at the University of North Carolina.

“The familiarity that I gained with the campus during this time helped me feel comfortable at Furman right from the start, which allowed me to seek out opportunities in my chosen major of chemistry,” he said. “The research opportunities that I received at Furman, thanks to the NSF S-STEM program, have been instrumental in preparing me for graduate school and my future career as a chemistry professor.”

Meeting with faculty and learning about research opportunities was key for Mesa, who participated in four summers of research while at Furman. Student cohorts have some classes together and meet as part of the same Pathways for SOAR Scholars group, discussing academic advising and much more related to career and overall success, with weekly seminar/workshop meetings over the first two years.

While the national focus of the program is on increasing socioeconomic diversity, at Furman the goal is that half of these scholars will self-identify as first generation or as members of an underrepresented minority group. The Faculty Development Center will help assess what works, which benefits Furman and its students but can also translate to classrooms across the country.

“We want to do as much as we can to support the 24 students that will be funded through the grant, but our hope is that what we learn, and the resources and materials we put together to help support these students, (can be shared) with other institutions and educators, not just those in higher education,” Haywood said. “These are groups of people whose perspectives and ideas haven’t always been included in the way we think about teaching STEM.