Back to February 2006 Releases
02/08/2006
Gov. Sanford: Executive Order, Tuition Caps Target Higher Ed Coordination
In Addition to Call for Tuition Caps, Executive Order Would Direct Development of Statewide Higher Ed Plan
Columbia, S.C. - In addition to his call for tuition caps as a means to encourage more collaboration among the state's colleges and universities, Governor Mark Sanford today signed an Executive Order directing the Commission on Higher Education to work with a new task force to develop a statewide plan for higher education. Gov. Sanford's Executive Order, 2006-01, will create the South Carolina Higher Educational Task Force - made up of students, parents, professors, business representatives and higher education officials - to identify concrete steps to reduce tuition, encourage more collaboration and reduce duplication.
"Capping tuition is a much-needed short term way to force more collaboration in the higher educational system, but we believe restructuring higher educational governance is the long-term solution," Gov. Sanford said. "We can't price our kids out of the market for higher education if we're going to compete in the knowledge-based economy, and recent tuition increases are largely a result of duplication and inefficiency within the higher educational system. I believe this group's results will not only illustrate the real benefits of restructuring higher educational governance, but in the near term will come up with some solutions for reining in these spiraling tuition increases."
Columbia attorney and former Chief Operating Officer for the University of South Carolina Lyles Glenn will chair the Task Force.
"The governor's budget process made it clear that the state's higher education system could be better served through strong oversight and effective means of coordination," Glenn said. "I appreciate Governor Sanford's and Dr. Layton McCurdy's desire to make higher education more affordable and responsive to South Carolina's needs, and look forward to working with them and the CHE in this effort."
S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, who has also expressed concern about the rapid increases in tuition, said he supported the governor's initiative.
"We need to ensure our South Carolina students can afford to go to South Carolina schools. Dramatic tuition increases are beginning to place the dream of a college education beyond the grasp of many South Carolinians," Speaker Harrell said. "We need to take the proper steps that will allow everyone a chance to receive a good college education."
Over the past ten years, the average tuition at state higher education institutions has increased by 152 percent. Last year, the Higher Education Pricing Index increased by 3.5 percent, while the average tuition for four-year universities increased by 11.2 percent. Recent tuition increases for South Carolina are second highest among southeastern states. While some have argued the state's tuition increases are a result of inadequate state funding, South Carolina has the second-highest amount of higher education expenditures as a percent of total expenditures among Southeastern states. Nationwide, only six states dedicate a greater percentage of their budget to higher education than South Carolina.