Diversifying the student population and improving retention are keys to stabilizing South Carolina State University's enrollment, Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Charles Smith says.

"We really need to help students persist toward graduation and not come in and drop out," Smith says.

Named to the position in August, Smith has wasted no time in developing a plan of action to help S.C. State keep more of its students. Smith comes to the university at a time when enrollment figures fell more than 500 students shy of projections.

One idea he has is to create more learning opportunities outside the classroom. The Virginia native wants to start a student leadership program, increase tutoring and upgrade residence halls to make them more conducive to learning.

For Smith, it's all a part of "making the campus a place they want to be."

He said S.C. State's retention rate for first-year students usually hovers in the upper 60s percentage wise.

But when Smith looked at the numbers, he found that S.C. State would have made this year's enrollment goal of 5,102 students if it had kept more upperclassmen from leaving.

"We've got to retain the students we get," he said. "We have to keep the sophomores and juniors. It goes down as they get higher and we want that to increase."

Like a good financial adviser, Smith is recommending that S.C. State diversify its portfolio of students.

He believes having a mix of more international, transfer, graduate and freshman students will stabilize the enrollment situation. Smith also is looking at making the university more attractive to disabled students.

"We've got to widen our net," he said.

President Dr. George Cooper has said more than 300 students were in the system but didn't complete registration this fall.

Smith said his office is trying to remedy that situation by making the process more accommodating for students. A complete review of the registration process is under way.

His goal is for students to fill out their applications and not have to supply any more information down the road. Smith said students will be able to see how much they owe for tuition and fees, check their living situation and schedule classes online in the future.

"When they get here, all they got to do is go to class," he said.

The S.C. State board established a goal of having 6,000 students on campus by 2014.

Smith believes that's not a realistic goal right now.

For instance, he noted a large percentage of the student population is first-generation college students. He said this year many of those students exhausted all their financial aid and weren't able to pay for school.

He said he is going to examine avenues to help those students out.

"I think we can grow slower. If we retain those students, we will eventually get to where we want to get," Smith said.

Smith desires to make the campus more active for students. He plans to launch a host of things for students to do, such as creating a language community for those studying a foreign language and inviting speakers, poets and authors to S.C. State.

Smith says the campus student center will inform people of all events at S.C. State.

He also would like to expand the study-abroad program and institute a "quiet time" on campus so students can study.

"I want to change the culture to a more academic culture," he said. "I want to create a diverse environment on campus to make everyone feel comfortable. We want all our students to feel like they're at home when they are here."

Smith has served in a variety of capacities in higher education, ranging from athletics director at Chicago State University to vice president of enrollment management at Delaware State University.

He was most recently the associate provost and vice president for student services at Alabama State University.

He received his doctorate in higher education administration from Virginia Tech.

Smith is a part-time writer and has authored three books. His next book, "This Morning My Father Died ... So What," is set to come out soon. He says his latest book is a fictional commentary on inattentive fathers.

Smith and his wife, Kim, have four children.

In his spare time, Smith enjoys sports, jogging and art.

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