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South Carolina State University trustees are considering increasing tuition by 6 percent next year.

The increase amounts to about $465 extra a year for each student. The extra revenue would go toward new faculty and increasing faculty salaries, in addition to offsetting rising energy costs and an anticipated shortfall in state funding.

Increases in housing fees, technology fees and meal plans were also approved by a university board committee Thursday. The entire board will have the final say on the tuition and fee increases during trustees’ April 24 meeting.

In addition, Senior Vice President for Financial Affairs John Smalls recommended that the committee move $1.3 million from the university’s reserve fund to a fund for scholarships, which was approved.

Prior to that, the full board assembled in a special meeting to discuss how the university will handle increased enrollment next fall.

“We have a big challenge,” said interim President Dr. Leonard McIntyre.

Last fall, S.C. State came under scrutiny for its handling of the university’s largest freshman class after some students were temporarily left without a place to live.

McIntyre commissioned a Managing Student Growth Committee, composed of university employees, to study the situation and make recommendations. The university also tapped the Iowa-based enrollment firm Noel-Levitz to assist in the process.

Both entities made recommendations Thursday to address the university’s enrollment concerns.

Among the recommendations are:

* Creating a long-term enrollment plan.

* Increasing the university’s retention rate.

* Ensuring financial aid availability.

* Capping the number of admitted first-year and transfer students to 1,300 for fall 2008.

* Strengthening the university’s communications, including its Web site, to create an inviting and persuasive experience for potential students.

* Ensuring the university has the infrastructure needed to support all enrolled students.

McIntyre said it is also vital to improve S.C. State’s ethnic, cultural and racial diversity to prepare its students for interacting in a broader society.

Gary Fretwell of Noel-Levitz said the university has relaxed its admission standards since 2003. He classified the university’s admission practices as open, which he said means, “If you finish the paperwork, you can show up.”

Last fall, the university admitted 1,318 freshman with an average adjusted SAT/ACT score of 815 and a 2.85 high school grade-point average.

McIntyre said the university’s admission standards had nothing with the housing crunch last fall. S.C. State needed to have the infrastructure to support the unprecedented enrollment, he said.

Fretwell said it is important to not continue putting pressure on S.C. State’s infrastructure going forward. He also noted that more must be done to retain its current students.

The MSGC reported that of the 1,318 new students that came to campus in the fall, 541 were not there in the spring.

However, Fretwell said the class of 2006’s retention rates were excellent. In order to continue that pace, he said the university must identify students that are unprepared to handle college coursework and assist them.

S.C. State established a summer Bulldog Academy last year to assist provisionally accepted students in making the transition to college. The MSGC reported that while these students performed well in the summer session, there was a significant performance decline in the fall.

Trustee Earl Bridges said the university was not doing anybody any favors by admitting unprepared students without giving them proper support.

S.C. State Board Chairman Maurice Washington charged McIntyre with the task of researching the matter. McIntyre said the university must find a way to continue supporting those students beyond the summer session.

In addition, the S.C. State board established an expectation of having 6,000 students enrolled by 2014. Last fall, the student population exceeded 4,600.

“The board has set a reasonable goal but you have to measure it in terms of the progress toward meeting and achieving that goal,” McIntyre said.

Washington lauded McIntyre for tackling the enrollment issue.

“We hired Dr. McIntyre to ready this university for its next president. I can say with confidence he’s doing just that,” Washington said.

T&D Staff Writer Lee Tant can be reached by e-mail at ltant@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-534-1060.

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