Current Projects

There are three projects currently underway for the Alliance.  If you would like to participate in any of them, or have suggestions for additional projects, please contact the Alliance office.

• A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Higher Education Costs

The purpose of this Guide is to serve as a comprehensive resource for parents and students who seek more information about how the costs of running an institution, what functions tuition and fees support, how academic research contributes to the state’s economy, and how to better weigh the options of affordability. 

• A Closer Look #3:  Higher Education & State Economic Health

As tuition and fees increase faster than inflation, and as state appropriations per student decrease in real dollars, the central policy question facing South Carolina is the extent to which post-secondary education should be publicly or privately financed.  Public education is a good that generates benefits both to its consumers and to society at large.  When provided strictly by the private market, such goods tend to be under-consumed -- that is, individuals are only willing to pay for their own private benefit; the greater benefit to society is neglected in the consumption decision.  However, by providing some degree of public funding to offset the cost to individual consumers, consumption of post-secondary education can be increased in order to maximize the social benefits of a well-educated populace.  The policy question for South Carolina is therefore to what degree higher education should be publicly financed -- given a limited state budget -- and to what degree individuals should be required to pay for the benefits that they receive.

• Building a Statewide Enrollment Model

One of the primary questions facing SC and its institutions is the level of future enrollment across the state.  It is important to plan institutional infrastructure needs, as well as potential workforce development.  The model is intended to analyze the pipeline of education in SC, from graduation from high school through graduation from a technical college or a four-year institution.

• South Carolina has a high school graduation rate of 51 percent, based on the cohort model.  This is last in the country.
• Of those who graduate, approximately 64 percent go on to some form of post-secondary education.  This rate is in the top 10 in the country.
• According to a report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), SC can expect a 4.9 percent increase in K-12 enrollment over the next decade.  Neighboring states Georgia and North Carolina expect large increases (GA 19%; NC 14.7%).
• The number of out-of-state students choosing to enroll in SC institutions has increased 29.3 percent increase from 2000 to 2006.
• The Governor, members of the General Assembly, and others have questioned if there are too many public institutions in South Carolina.

Given the above points, it is important to build a statewide enrollment model that has built-in calculations that facilitate creation of multiple scenarios.  A model is needed that can be “played with” by the multiple constituencies of higher education, proposing conservative growth or more liberal scenarios.