Looking for opportunities to sing carols, go to an art exhibition, or cheer on your favorite team?

SCICU member colleges and universities have all that and more going on now. Click on the school links below to find events scheduled at your favorite college or university.

Allen University

Anderson University

Benedict College

Charleston Southern University

Claflin University

Coker University

Columbia College

Columbia International University

Converse College

Erskine College

Furman University

Limestone College

Morris College

Newberry College

North Greenville University

Presbyterian College

Southern Wesleyan University

Spartanburg Methodist College

Voorhees College

Wofford College

NACAC agreement –

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) voted late last month to remove provisions from its “Code of Ethics and Professional Practices” in the hope of ending an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for possible antitrust law violations.

Removing the following prohibitions is intended to address the Justice Department’s position that NACAC’s practices were anti-competitive and hindered the capacity of students to secure the best aid package for themselves:

• Colleges must not offer special incentives to students applying through an early decision program
• Colleges must not recruit students after they have committed to, or enrolled in, another institution
• Colleges must not solicit transfer applications from students who had previously applied, but enrolled at another institution

As reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, college and university staff are concerned that students will be overwhelmed by offers even after having made a decision. I would also note that students may commit to institutions even later in the summer, hoping to secure the best deal. Doing so will make enrollment projections – and budget building – that much more of a challenge. Additionally, colleges and universities with greater resources at their disposal will have an even greater competitive advantage in recruiting students.

HEA Reauthorization –

We now have dueling approaches to reauthorizing the Higher Education Act.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, is very eager for some manner of reauthorization to pass before he retires next year. With negotiations over HEA bogged down, Sen. Alexander endeavored to create an incentive by not allowing the extension of legislation that funds HBCUs and minority-serving institutions (MSIs).

As an alternative to the extension, which expired September 30th, he introduced the Student Aid Improvement Act of 2019, which offers permanent extension of the $255 million in HBCU/MSI funding, along with provisions that:

• Create a streamlined FAFSA
• Remove the ban on Pell Grants for incarcerated students
• Provide access to Pell Grants for short-term job training programs at institutions that keep tuition and fee increases at or under inflation
• Increase requirements for financial literacy training
• Provide a $20 mandatory increase in the Pell Grant maximum, beyond what Congress funds in the annual budgeting process

While we very much appreciate the commitment to student aid, and to the HBCUs, we remain concerned about students draining their Pell Grants on short-term training that will not translate into securing a college degree, which is the purpose of the Pell Grant Program.

The bill is silent on Title IX, which is a high priority for ranking committee member Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), who wants increased protections for survivors of sexual assaults.

Last week, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) introduced the House majority version of HEA reauthorization, the “College Affordability Act.” At 1,165 pages, this bill is certainly comprehensive, and, not surprisingly, contains elements that support independent higher education and our students, as well as provisions that do our institutions a disservice. Elements of the bill that support independent higher education include:

• Continues support for the core student aid programs including:
  • A $500 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award;
  • The preservation of SEOG, including the new emergency grant funding for students in short term crisis;
  • The expansion of Federal Work Study; and
  • The reinstatement of the Perkins Loans Program.
• Provides bonus grants to institutions that graduate on time bachelor degree students who receive Pell Grants.
• Allows students receiving Pell Grants who have not exhausted all their undergraduate Pell eligibility to carry the remainder on to graduate school.
• Increases and permanently reauthorizes mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

Unfortunately, the bill also creates programs hostile to independent higher education and imposes unnecessary federal mandates:

• Creates a free community college program, which would favor funding certain institutions over private, nonprofit colleges, and diverts resources that could enhance the core student aid programs.
• Federalizes accreditation by requiring the U.S. Secretary of Education to develop measures that accreditors must use to assess an institution’s success with completion or workforce participation. Accreditation is meant to promote institutional – and student – success, not enforce compliance with arbitrary federal standards.
• Adds a lengthy list of new reporting and compliance requirements for colleges that will add extensively to administrative costs and reduce the flexibility of campuses to address issues in a manner that reflect their unique circumstances:
  • Extensive reporting and/or educational requirements on hazing
  • Establishing a coordinator position under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act
  • The creation of an Office of Accessibility
• Imposes limits on institutions regarding the amount of expenses for programs and services other than instruction. This is excessive federal micromanagement that fails to recognize the importance of institutional investments in tutoring, health services, counselling, or all the student safety and reporting areas the bill requires from colleges and universities.

The competing approaches to HEA reauthorization will require extensive bipartisan negotiations to arrive at a bill that can pass both houses. It remains to be seen whether the current environment on Capitol Hill will permit such collaboration.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU) is proud to announce the election of Jerry Cheatham, a long-time advocate for education in South Carolina, as its new chair of the board of trustees.

Cheatham succeeds Russell Cook as board chair. Cook, managing director of Comporium Ventures, led SCICU during the leadership transition from retiring President and CEO Mike LeFever to Dr. Jeff Perez as SCICU’s new president and CEO in 2018. Cheatham served as chair of the executive search committee.

Cheatham, SCICU’s new board chair, is staff vice president of finance (Industrial North America) for Sonoco (Hartsville, S.C.). He also is a member of the board of trustees for Coker University, one of the 20 member colleges and universities in SCICU. In addition to his higher education advocacy, Cheatham is substantially invested in K-12 education in South Carolina’s Pee Dee region, serving as the president of the Darlington County Education Foundation.

SCICU trustees also elected the following S.C. business and education leaders to the board:

• Scott Hagler, Midlands market president – Security Federal Bank (Columbia, S.C.)
• Annie Ham, vice president of marketing – McCall Farms (Florence, S.C.)
• Spencer Jordan, Ed.D., executive director – S.C. Independent Schools Association (SCISA, Orangeburg, S.C.)
• Robert McKie, cybersecurity technology consultant – Dominion Energy (Columbia, S.C.)
• Brent Weaver, vice president for government banking – Wells Fargo (Columbia, S.C.)
• Sharon Williams, associate director – Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough Center for Professionalism at the USC School of Law (Columbia, S.C.)

The following outgoing trustees are recognized by SCICU for their invaluable advocacy on behalf of S.C.’s leading independent colleges and universities:

• Henry Barton, vice president of government affairs (retired) – Duke Energy (Greenwood, S.C.)
• Tushar Chikhliker, attorney / member – Nexsen Pruett (Columbia, S. C.)
• Jim Reynolds, CEO – Total Comfort Solutions (Columbia, S.C.)
• Daniel Sanders – president (retired ) – ExxonMobil Chemical Company (Greenville, S.C.)
• Ed Zeigler – president and CEO – Craig Gaulden Davis (Greenville, S.C.)

As chair of the SCICU Council of Presidents, Krista Newkirk, president of Converse College, will serve as vice chair of SCICU’s board of trustees.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Long-term relationships with donors have helped SCICU provide scholarships and financial aid to students at member colleges and universities since its inception in 1953. In 2019, SCICU is honored to recognize 50-year donor relationships with the Alwinell Foundation and the Vulcan Materials Company. Both long-term donors were recognized at SCICU’s board of trustees awards luncheon on October 8th at Coker University.

Alwinell Foundation

The Alwinell Foundation, based in Charlotte, N.C., has supported higher education and the advancement of science, religion, and financial assistance for deserving persons since its inception in 1951. They have contributed more than $283,000 towards SCICU’s financial aid initiatives, including the Discretionary Scholarship Program, which provides financial support to students at SCICU institutions to help them persist through unexpected financial hardships and complete their degrees.

The foundation was started and endowed by Henry Allison and John Erwin, founders of the Alison Erwin Company, a furniture and electronics distribution wholesale enterprise. The company grew from local and regional distribution and expanded its reach internationally before closing its doors in 2010 after 116 years of operation.

Vulcan Materials Company

Vulcan Materials Company, the nation’s largest producer of construction aggregates (primarily crushed stone, sand, and gravel), has contributed more than $213,000 to SCICU and its member colleges and universities. Funds received from Vulcan support SCICU’s Discretionary Scholarship Program, which helps SCICU students persist through financial difficulties and stay in school to complete their degree programs.