SPARTANBURG — USC Upstate plans to expand its academics — enrollment, degree programs and graduation rate — and physical presence.
The University of South Carolina’s campus in Spartanburg unveiled the plan, dubbed “Greater 2030,” on March 18 at a USC Board of Trustees meeting in Columbia.
Chancellor Bennie Harris said the plan’s name references its shared goals with such local organizations as Spartanburg Academic Movement and OneSpartanburg that seek to better the region.
He said the growth of USC Upstate will help the Spartanburg Academic Movement achieve its goal of raising the number of Spartanburg County residents with a college degree to 40 percent by 2030.
“Greater 2030 aligns with the vision of the Upstate,” Harris said.
Part of the increased educational opportunities is the addition of doctoral programs to USC Upstate’s offerings.
The university already offers a doctorate in nursing practice, its first doctoral program, and Harris said it is looking to expand to offer doctorates in childhood education, business and other areas.
Harris said expanding the university’s graduate programs is key to increasing total enrollment.
Total enrollment for the 2021-22 school year was around 6,600, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The goal is to improve that to 7,000 by 2030.
“We believe the majority of our growth is going to come through graduate programs,” Harris said.
This emphasis on graduate programs is also important in mitigating what Harris called the enrollment cliff, an expected demographic shift that will lead to fewer college-age Americans and therefore fewer people applying for college.
College degree completion flexibility is also set to expand. Harris said career experience could soon be eligible for college credit.
“If you've been doing human resource work for the last 20 years or so, we can take that experience and give college credit for it,” he said.
Another goal is to improve the institution’s six-year graduation rate. The graduation rate for its 2014 cohort was 47 percent; the new goal is to improve that percentage to 55 percent.
“We believe the six-year graduation rate of 55 percent is really attainable,” Harris said.
USC Upstate is a regional comprehensive university, meaning it serves a disproportionately higher number of students with low-income backgrounds or those who are first-generation, community college transfers or another background that is more likely to take longer than four years to graduate.
The average six-year graduation rate at regional comprehensive universities is 50 percent, according to the American Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Increased community engagement was also outlined. Harris said it is important for the university to invest in its community.
There will also be physical expansions coming to the university’s campus. There are plans to add to the university’s health center and build a nursing building and an engineering and computer science building.
The groundbreaking of its $21 million library expansion will be in April, and it is also working to build a $65 million convocation center to host graduations and other events.
It is still working on funding the convocation center and asking the state Legislature to cover half its cost.
“We don't have a facility for our commencement,” Harris said. “(The convocation center) is to be a community asset that can also serve this community.”
