UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA UPSTATE Faculty Senate Meeting MINUTES December 11, 2015 TIME: 2:15 P.M. PLACE: Rampey 215 Officers Present: Dr. Paul Grady (HPPA), Faculty Chair; Dr. Holly Pae (SOE), Faculty ChairElect; Dr. Sarah Hunt-Barron (SOE), Recording Secretary Members Present: Dr. Chunyu Ai (MCS), Dr. Warren Bareiss (FACS), Dr. Gary Bradley (SOE), Dr. Stacy Burr (SOE), Meggan Burton (LLC), Dr. Richard Combes (HPPA), Dr. Chase DeHan (JCBE), Dr. Muhammad Hameed (MCS), Dr. Dawn Henderson (SON), Dr. Araceli Hernandez-Laroche (LLC), Dr. Mary Alice Hodge (SON), Dr. Steve Hyun (MCS), Dr. Laura Jennings (SCW), Dr. Jim Kamla (SOE), Dr. Toshua Kennedy (SON), Dr. Evan Krauter (PSY), Dr. Judy Krueger (NSE), Ann Merryman (LIB), Lee Neibert (FACS), Dr. Calvin Odhiambo (SCW), Dr. Allison Pingley (HPPA), Dr. Trevor Rubenzer (HPPA), Kevin Shehan (LIB), Dr. Monika Sheli (LLC), Dr. Jonathan Storm (NSE), Dr. Betsy Swanson (SON), Dr. Nur Tanyel (SOE), Dr. Tyrone Toland (INFO), Dr. Julie Wade (JCBE), Dr. Carolyn Webber (FACS) Ex-Officio: Dr. Tom Moore, Chancellor; Dr. Clif Flynn, Interim SVC; Mary-David Fox, Registrar Visitors: Dr. June Carter (LLC), Dr. Peter Caster (LLC), Dr. Jeannie Chapman (NSE), Dr. David Farris (NSE), Dr. Abe Goldberg (HPPA), Dr. Tina Herzberg (SOE), Dr. Lee Hurren (SOE), Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick (VP, USC System Planning), Dr. Carol Loar (HPPA), Dr. Jennifer Parker (PSY), Dr. Kim Purdy (PSY), Dr. Frank Rudsill (JCBE) ABSENT: Dr. Darlene Amendolair (SON), Dr. Bradley Baumgarner (NSE), Dr. David Coberly (LLC), Dr. Elizabeth Cole (JCBE), Dr. Tammy Gilliam (SON), Dr. Astrid Rosario (NSE), Dr. Susan Ruppel (PSY) I.

Call to Order  The meeting was called to order at 2:15 p.m. A.

Approval of the Minutes  A correction was made to page 12 of the minutes. Dr. Holly Pae (SOE) noted that within Dr. Richard Combes (HPPA) comments the minutes were in error. The minutes read: “He noted that the faculty did make a recommendation to Dr. Flynn’s office and believes it was within Dr. Flynn’s purview to reject it.” The minutes should read: “He noted that the faculty did make a

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recommendation to Dr. Flynn’s office and believes it was not within Dr. Flynn’s purview to reject it” (emphasis added). The minutes of November 13, 2015 were approved as corrected.

Administrative Updates  Dr. Tom Moore, Chancellor − Welcomed Dr. Marianne Fitzpatrick, Vice President of System Planning. − Announced that convocation is Tuesday, December 15 and there will be a retirees’ reception the same afternoon. He noted he would attend the Board of Trustees meeting in Columbia that morning as well. The changes to the Faculty Manual will be on the Board of Trustees agenda for that meeting and he said he looks forward to their approval. − Remarked that this has been a demanding semester and he is looking forward to 2016. He noted that on February 18, 2016, the University will celebrate its 49th anniversary at Founders Day. Two staff members and three faculty members will be recognized with distinguished service awards by the Spartanburg County Commission for Higher Education, including Elaine Guest Crosland, Janice Dellinger, Diane Daane (SCW), Dwight Lambert (HPPA), and Faruk Tanyel (JCBE). − Stated that the budget process begins again as the General Assembly reconvenes, with some specific funding requests moving forward. He noted that there have been positive responses to the items in the budget thus far. He reported that the University is working hard to try and make the Legislature better fund Upstate. − Announced that Dr. Kim Purdy (PSY) will chair the search committee for the next Chancellor. More information about that committee will be forthcoming. − Dr. Moore wished everyone a wonderful holiday season and said he looked forward to our return in January.  Dr. Clif, Flynn, Interim Senior Vice Chancellor (remarks are attached in their entirety) − Acknowledged that it was thanks to Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick the Faculty Manual is on the agenda for the Board of Trustees meeting and thanked her for her efforts to make this happen. − Reminded faculty to apply for the third cohort of the Active Learning Faculty Fellowships. Two more active-learning classrooms will be coming on board this fall – HPAC 218 and Media 328 – thanks to a Title III grant. The deadline for submitting applications is Monday, December 14. − Reported that the USC Board of Trustees, in their oversight capacity, asks for New Program Follow-up Reports after the implementation of new academic programs. The University submitted six of those reports for three undergraduate programs – Child Development and Family Studies, Theatre, Exercise and Sport Science – and three graduate programs - Child Advocacy Studies, MAT Special Education in Visual Impairment, and MSN Clinical Nurse Leader. Dr. Flynn thanked Warren Carson, Elaine Crosland, and the faculty members from each of the areas for their hard 2

work to complete these reports and meet a tight deadline imposed by Columbia. The reports have also been shared with Dr. Lisa Lever, Chair of the Academic Budget and Facilities Planning Committee. − Dr. Flynn reported that a committee to inform salary adjustments for faculty, similar to a task force chaired by Dr. Rob McCormick, will be reconstituted. This committee will monitor and make recommendations on an ongoing basis regarding faculty salaries. Dr. Paul Grady, Dr. Richard Combes, chair of Faculty Welfare, and Dr. Flynn will begin discussions on the details soon. − Dr. Flynn honored two colleagues retiring at the end of this semester after decades of outstanding service to this institution: Dr. Diane Daane, professor of criminal justice, and Elaine Guest Crosland, Executive Coordinator in the Senior Vice Chancellor’s office, after a combined half century of dedicated service to the University. C.

Systems Updates  Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick, Vice President for USC System Planning (remarks are attached in their entirety) − Thanked Dr. Paul Grady, Faculty Chair, Chancellor Moore, and Senior Vice Chancellor Flynn for inviting her to discuss the new Office of System Planning. She said she welcomed the opportunity to share the overarching vision and some of the initial steps that will be taken. − Pointed out that the University of South Carolina maintains the state’s only integrated, coordinated and comprehensive system of higher education. With four strategically placed two-year colleges focused on associates degree completion, three comprehensive baccalaureate and master’s serving universities, and the state’s research university with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs, the USC System provides the citizens of South Carolina quality, choice and access to education. She noted that the system serves citizens by increasing professional mobility, helping individuals keep pace with the demands of a knowledge economy, and engaging in the civic life of our nation. − Reported that the imperative for the USC System is clear. According to an analysis by the Higher Education Study Committee, published in Competing Through Knowledge, South Carolina will produce approximately 553,884 new jobs from economic expansion by 2030. She noted that workforce needs will outpace the labor force growth rate, resulting in a severe shortage of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. According to this report, South Carolina’s businesses will need an additional 4,149 workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher each year well beyond the next decade. Dr. Fitzpatrick said the USC system will play a major role in providing more college educated South Carolinians each year. − Expressed that our work as educators is driven by the state and national imperative to increase the number of college educated individuals in South Carolina. With improved educational attainment, more opportunities to 3

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attract new businesses with higher paying jobs will become available. Dr. Fitzpatrick noted that these jobs will increase the state’s tax base and expand the demand for goods and services which, in turn, fuels the economy. Remarked that our work as educators also has a broader purpose. She reported that college educated individuals are significantly more likely to vote, volunteer in their communities, and read to their children. She noted that we are educating our students to lead fulfilling and productive lives and to understand something about the nature of being human. Described joining the faculty at USC Columbia a decade ago to become the founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (consolidating four colleges into one unit). She noted that she found a core of strong, dedicated and vibrant faculty researchers and scholars who were nationally and internationally recognized in their fields. She also noted there was a strong cultural tendency to do academic work of high quality but not to advertise what was done. With a system of over 46,000 students, and this year about 6,000 at Upstate, she said it was critical we begin to use multiple channels of communication to multiple audiences to carry our messages. Dr. Fitzpatrick noted this tendency not to self-promote has been the most intractable one she has faced as a leader here. Arraying and publicizing strengths and learning best practices from one another is vital to the continued growth of the USC System. Reported her office is developing a true system website that will celebrate the quality of educational efforts, provide accountability and benchmark data on how the system is doing in comparison to our peers and aspirants on achieving our goals and present the steps the University system is taking to facilitate college completion in South Carolina. She noted that the site will facilitate and celebrate effective collaboration between system institutions and promote the identification and adoption of best practices across all campuses. Remarked that our system has much to celebrate, including three AACSB accredited business schools; four NCATE accredited education programs; four excellent, high pass rate nursing programs accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE); and four RN to BSN completion programs. She said that students throughout the state can attend a USC institution and receive a high quality education. Access and affordability is the strength of the USC System. Noted that to increase college graduation rates the smooth transfers of students to our institutions should become a focal point. In her environmental scan of our system and analysis of best practices nationwide, Dr. Fitzpatrick found that USC Upstate is a system leader in working with regional technical colleges to facilitate transfer. She noted Upstate’s practices should be adopted as a best practice across all of system campuses. The practices are student-focused, develop clear pathways for students, and take into account the undergraduate degree

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students would eventually like to obtain. She applauded faculty and staff for their efforts in this area. Reported that the system has a number of MOUs with other institutions for smooth transitions to our universities. She noted that these agreements are not systematically organized and are hard for students or parents to find. Dr. Fitzpatrick said that developing a system-level website will enable students to take the courses which not only transfer but count toward the specific educational goal they are trying to reach. Reported the Chancellors and the President signed an agreement with the South Carolina Technical Colleges to accept students who have completed the associate’s degree of arts or of science into our universities. She reported that SC Technical colleges graduate about 10,000 associate degree candidates per year, with one-half of these students bound for a bachelor’s degree. According to Dr. Fitzpatrick, this agreement will set the stage for continued requests for funding including Upstate’s requests for funds toward a bachelor of applied sciences in advanced manufacturing management and a new urban and regional studies institute, as well as more funding for the engineering technology management program. Noted that Upstate has been involved with Palmetto College, offering important degree completion programs including the RN to BSN program and criminal justice. Reported all institutions in our system are committed to innovation in education and developing new degrees, programs and certificates that better serve the regional economic development needs of their communities. Common goals among institutions system wide include:  Assure the highest quality educational experiences.  Increase enrollment.  Retain students in order to graduate more well-educated citizens.  Develop and manage resources effectively, efficiently and ethically.  Create collaborative partnerships to advance community, region and state. Reported another goal for the Office of System Planning is sharing what works across the state for retention of students and to identify and enhance initiatives to promote degree completion. System level proposals in this area could have more success with funding, including attracting interest from foundations which may prefer larger collaborations across institutions than in single institution proposals. Reported she attended the 10th Global Confucius Institute Conference on behalf of President Harris Pastides. She said that for the past seven years, Columbia has hosted a Confucius Institute dedicated to teaching the Chinese language and to fostering outreach activities. Dr. Fitzpatrick shared that she had discussed the possibilities of extending this work beyond Columbia to other universities in our system, including preliminary talks with some key leaders at Upstate. Noted it is a major tenet of Dr. Pastides’ administration that postsecondary education is the key strategy for creating good jobs, improving public 5

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health, promoting and enhancing citizenship and civic engagement, strengthening the economy, and offering cultural opportunities and a higher quality of life for South Carolinians. She remarked that collaboration and learning best practices across the system and insuring that these best practices are celebrated throughout the state is vital to this mission. − Stated that she has had a remarkable first few months in this new role and has enjoyed meeting the faculty, staff and students across the USC System. She has found that the basic tenet of system theory, “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,” is an apt description of the USC System. She said she looked forward to learning more about the achievements and initiatives of the faculty and staff at USC Upstate over the next few months. − Stated that although she may not always be able to act on information shared with her immediately, that information could become useful at any time. The Chancellor’s vision for her position was to have someone in Columbia who would be in hallway conversations and could keep the interests of the system campuses at the forefront. − Noted that the University is starting a strong communications campaign. She mentioned that the state has money this year, but we also had a terrible flood and the $114 million dollar bill for the flood may serve as an excuse for failing to fund higher education adequately again. − Concluded that she looks forward to hearing from Upstate. She noted that it’s an important time to be bragging about what you are doing and what your students are doing. She reminded the Senators that we are the University of South Carolina in this region and making sure we have stories to tell is really important. − Dr. Paul Grady thanked Dr. Fitzpatrick for ensuring the Faculty Manual appeared on the Board of Trustees agenda. Committee Updates  Access Committee – Dr. Tina Herzberg, Chair (SOE) (handout attached) − Thanked Dr. Paul Grady for the opportunity to address the Faculty Senate. After asking the Senators how many knew of the Access Committee, Dr. Herzberg noted a key goal for this year is to increase awareness about the work of the Access Committee. She noted that the committee has existed for three years and has representatives from across the university. Dr. Herzberg reported the Access Committee is trying to raise awareness about accessibility and make recommendations about policy. Dr. Herzberg said she hoped to appear in January or February with formal recommendations for the Senate from the committee. − Reported the committee began its research with the Upstate website. The website is very accessible and before anything is added to the site it is reviewed for accessibility. She noted the communications team is looking at adding a section to the site to help faculty make their work more accessible and current. Disability Services staff members work hand-inhand with the communications staff to ensure pages are accessible. 6

− According to Dr. Herzberg, federal guidelines state that Section 508 requirements must be met between April and October of 2017. It seems to be a moving target regarding the exact month, but somewhere between April and October of 2017 all course materials must be accessible. − She reported that a formal policy exists at Upstate, authorized in 2012, (6.0.2) that discusses students with disabilities and the accommodation process but lacks any reference to the Section 508 requirements. The committee is considering recommendations to expand or update this policy to ensure compliance with Section 508. − Noted that the committee had also been looking at what our sister universities are doing in the USC System. She noted that USC Aiken and Columbia both have online resources for faculty that we may all be able to share. She also noted the committee has looked at what other universities are doing in this regard. − Highlighted the importance of thinking ahead with regard to accessibility, noting that just this fall four courses had to be adapted for a student and include captioning in online resources to ensure the student could access the content. According to best practices in the field, making last minute accommodations is not ideal. − Reported that we have been evaluating the accessibility of our courses. Scott Smith has evaluated between 80 and 100 courses for accessibility, but we have far more than that offered each term. − Stressed the importance of clearly defined roles for faculty and staff on campus to help meet the requirements for Section 508. The committee is looking at establishing priorities and considering a phased in implementation to meet the 2017 date. She noted that the one committee especially important for the Access Committee to speak with is the Academic Budget and Facility Planning Committee. Dr. Herzberg said that we may need additional resources and tools to meet all the requirements of Section 508. Building the capacity and infrastructure at Upstate will be important. The Access Committee will have formal recommendations to Dr. Moore and the Faculty Senate by February. She asked Senators to share this information with their units and asked for input from all faculty members. − Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick said Bobby Gist has shared that the majority of complaints the EEOC office gets are about accessibility issues where a faculty member refuses to meet a student’s reasonable accommodations. − Dr. Richard Combes (HPPA) asked for clarification on the point of providing notes to students in a class. He asked if it could be an infringement of academic freedom to be required to provide the faculty member’s personal notes to a student as an accommodation. − Dr. Fitzpatrick replied that a faculty member does not need to provide their personal notes, but if the student needs organized notes or PowerPoint notes before the class begins you are required by law to provide them, as it is a reasonable accommodation.

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− Dr. Combes asked if the implication would be that those faculty members who do not use Blackboard would be required to do so. Dr. Fitzpatrick replied that it is not a question of being required to use Blackboard but you have to provide an organized pattern of notes to the student if that is what they need as a reasonable accommodation. She noted it’s a whole new world because it’s a federal law. − Dr. Toshua Kennedy (SON) asked if someone could provide captioning. Dr. Herzberg responded that Disability Services has provided some support and there are some third party vendors that have been used to caption videos for emergency situations, but there are tools like Camtasia you can use and Echo 360 may have a transcription tool that would make captioning easier. The committee is trying to assess what we have now. There is no Camtasia license that Dr. Herzberg is aware of at Upstate. Ann Merryman (LIB) noted that some of the librarians have Camtasia. E.

II.

Old Business  There was no old business.

New Business A.

Program, Curriculum, Catalog, and Course Changes (attached) 1. FACS a. New Course Request (1) JOUR U315 

The new course was approved unanimously.

2. NSE a. New Course Request (1) BIOL U230 (2) NURS U230 

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Dr. David Farris (NSE) introduced this course, which is a cross-listed medical terminology course. He noted it is a requirement for students in certain graduate programs to have medical terminology and this will allow students to take this on our campus. The new course requests were approved unanimously.

3. PSY a. Change in Graduate Catalog Course Listing (1) CAST U600 (2) CAST U601 (3) CAST U602 (4) CAST U698 (5) CAST U699 8

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Dr. Kim Purdy (PSY) explained this number change was to better align our course numbers with Columbia’s numbering system in the master’s program these courses may be transferred to. The change in course listings was approved unanimously.

b. New Course Request (1) CAST U399 (2) PSYC U398  

Dr. Purdy noted these were to increase experiential learning opportunities for students. These courses were approved unanimously.

4. School of Education a. Change in Catalog Course Listing (1) EDEC U410 (2) EDEC U424 (3) EDEC U440 (4) EDEC U445 (5) EDEC U446 (6) EDEC U447 (7) EDEC U448 (8) EDEC U449 (9) EDEC U468 (10) EDRE U414 

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Dr. Nur Tanyel (SOE) explained that the course description changes are due to Read to Succeed legislation. All teacher education programs must meet established standards from the South Carolina Department of Education and to meet these standards course descriptions needed to be revised. Dr. Richard Combes offered a friendly amendment. On page 49, the course description should begin with a capital letter. The changes were approved unanimously with the amendment.

b. New Course Request (1) EDEC U349 (2) EDRE U416 

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Dr. Tanyel noted that EDRE 416 is to meet required standards by South Carolina Department of Education. To make room for this new course, the School of Education removed a course and moved this course to EDEC U349. The new courses were approved unanimously.

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5. Academic Affairs Committee a. Change in Curriculum or Program (1) FACS (a) Communications (b) Communications (c) BA in Arts in Art Education (d) Art History Minor 

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Dr. Mary Lou Hightower (FACS) noted that there was a change of the South Carolina Department of Education and FACS needed to add a reading course to the Art Education major. − The changes to Art Education and the Art History Minor (c and d above) were approved unanimously. The changes to items a and b (Communications) were explained by Dr. Warren Bareiss (FACS). These are courses for the International Media program and changes to the minor. − These changes were approved unanimously.

(2) School of Education  Dr. Grady noted a last minute change to the agenda. Items b-h will be delayed until the January Senate meeting so the new course proposals mentioned in these program changes can be considered with these changes. (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i)

School of Education Middle Level Education Secondary Biology Secondary Chemistry Secondary English Secondary Math Secondary Social Studies/History Secondary Spanish Exercise and Sport Science

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Dr. Nur Tanyel introduced the change on pages 104-107. She noted this is a change related to the new course request, adding EDRE 416 to 400-level courses, deleting EDEC 449 and adding EDEC 349. − The changes were approved unanimously. Dr. Jim Kamla (SOE) explained these changes were largely cleaning up of the Exercise and Sports Science major. − The changes were approved unanimously.

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b. Change in a Program to Offer a Minor (1) FACS (a) Communications 

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Dr. Warren Bareiss explained this was a proposal to offer a minor in health communications, which would be of interest to students in mass media and public relations but also may be of interest to students in Informatics. It’s building upon courses offered in communications as well as a number of other departments around campus and departments involved agreed to the minor. The minor was approved unanimously.

IV.

Announcements  Dr. Flynn announced that Cindy Jennings has extended the deadline for the Active Learning grants until the end of next week.

V.

Adjournment  The meeting adjourned at 3:14 pm.

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Dr. Clif Flynn’s full remarks Good afternoon. I have a few things to report – I will try to be brief. The agenda looks full and I know you are eager to hear from Dr. Fitzpatrick. I would like to encourage you and your colleagues to consider applying for the third cohort of our Active Learning Faculty Fellowships. Thanks to the Title 3 grant, two more active-learning classrooms will be coming on board this fall - HPAC 218 and Media 328. The deadline for submitting applications is Monday. The USC Board of Trustees, in their oversight capacity, asks for New Program Followup Reports after the implementation of new academic programs. We recently submitted six of those reports for three undergraduate programs – Child Development and Family Studies, Theatre, Exercise and Sport Science – and three graduate programs - Child Advocacy Studies, MAT Special Education in Visual Impairment, and MSN Clinical Nurse Leader. I want to thank Warren Carson, Elaine Crosland, and the faculty members from each of the areas for their hard work to complete these reports, meeting a tight deadline imposed by Columbia. I have shared these reports with Lisa Lever, Chair of the Academic Budget and Facilities Planning Committee. A couple of years ago, Rob McCormick chaired a task force on faculty salaries, and the recommendations from that task force informed the salary adjustments for faculty that were made last year. Since then, several have requested that such a committee be reconstituted and that it serve to monitor and make recommendations on an ongoing basis. Today I am reporting that we will do just that. Paul, Richard Combes, as chair of Faculty Welfare, and I will begin discussions on the details soon. Finally, I want to take just a moment to acknowledge and honor two of our colleagues who are retiring at the end of this semester after decades of outstanding service to this institution. You have heard their names mentioned already by the Chancellor. Diane Daane, professor of criminal justice, and Elaine Guest Crosland, Executive Coordinator in my office have decided to hang it up following, between the two of them, a half century of dedicated service to this university. We are undoubtedly a better place because of their contributions. Please join me in honoring these two special colleagues. That concludes my report. Thank you.

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Dr. Mary Anne Fitzpatrick’s full remarks ADDRESS TO THE USC UPSTATE FACULTY SENATE ON THE USC OFFICE OF SYSTEM PLANNING December 11, 2015 Mary Anne Fitzpatrick Vice President for USC System Planning, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Psychology Good afternoon, I would like to thank the faculty chair, Paul Grady, and Chancellor Moore and Vice Chancellor Flynn for inviting me to discuss the new Office of System Planning recently established by President Harris Pastides. I currently have the honor of serving as the first Vice President in this new office and welcome the opportunity to share with you the overarching vision behind the office and some of the early steps that we will take to demonstrate how we fulfill our promises to the citizens of the state of South Carolina. The University of South Carolina maintains the state’s only integrated, coordinated and comprehensive system of higher education. With four strategically placed two-year colleges focused on associates degree completion; three comprehensive baccalaureate and master’s serving universities; and the state’s research university with bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs; the USC System provides the citizens of South Carolina quality, choice and access to education. Our system serves citizens by increasing professional mobility, helping individuals keep pace with the demands of a knowledge economy, and engaging confidently in the civic life of our nation. The Imperative for the USC System is clear. According to an analysis by the Higher Education Study Committee published in Competing Through Knowledge, South Carolina will produce approximately 553,884 new jobs from economic expansion by 2030. The workforce needs will outpace the labor force growth rate, resulting in a severe shortage of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher. On average, South Carolina’s businesses will need an additional 4,149 workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher EACH year and every year well beyond the next decade. And the USC system must play a major role in providing more college educated South Carolinians each year from now until the foreseeable future. Driving all of our work as educators is the state and national imperative that we increase the number of college educated individuals in South Carolina. The more we increase educational attainment in our state, the more opportunities we have to attract new businesses with higher paying jobs. These jobs increase a state’s tax base and expand the demand for goods and services, which, in turn, fuels the economy. Although I acknowledge the value of what we do to educate students for various technical and professional fields, our work as educators has a broader purpose. There is no doubt of the macro level economic value of an education, but we can never retreat from its value at the micro intellectual level. Data clearly indicates that college educated individuals are significantly more likely to vote, to volunteer in their communities, to read to their children. With our majors in the arts, humanities and the social sciences, we are educating our students to lead fulfilling and productive lives and to understand something about the nature of being human. Certainly, our goal is not only to fuel the economy but also to build the mind.

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But what possible role does this new office play in helping achieve these goals? Before I answer this most important question, I would like to share a few personal observations. When I joined the faculty at USC Columbia a decade ago to become the founding dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (consolidating 4 colleges into one unit), I found a core of strong, dedicated and vibrant group of faculty researchers and scholars who were nationally and internationally recognized in their fields. These faculty members were dedicated to their students and to the educational enterprise. But there was also a strong cultural tendency to do academic work of high quality but not to advertise what was done. It is as if in South Carolina we still work on the assumption that information can best be shared face to face as we are a small community and only a conversation away from finding out what we need to know. But we now have a system of over 46,000 students, and this year Upstate hit the 6,000 student mark. Across the many domains in which we work--and the very different student and public audiences in which we operate--we can no longer primarily depend on face to face communication. We need multiple channels of communication to multiple audiences to carry our messages. This problem has been the most intractable one I have faced as a leader here. This cultural norm of the importance of interpersonal communication has its place, but arraying and publicizing our strengths and learning best practices from one another is vital to our continued growth. And for this we need to move from exclusive dependence on a model of one-on-one communication to using many channels of communication to reach our multiple audiences. My office is developing a true system website that will celebrate the quality of our educational efforts, provide accountability and benchmark data on how we are doing in comparison to our peers and aspirants on achieving our goals, and present the steps we are taking to facilitate college completion in our state. The site will facilitate and celebrate effective collaboration between system institutions and promote the identification and adoption of best practices across all campuses. We have much to celebrate. Our system boasts three AACSB accredited business schools, four NCATE accredited education programs, four excellent, high pass rate nursing programs accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and four RN to BSN completion programs. In every region of our state, students can attend a USC institution and receive a high quality education. This access and affordability is our strength and it is even more important than it has ever been for South Carolina. To increase college graduation rates in our state we must focus not only on first-year, first-time students enrolling in our institutions but also on smooth transfers of students to our institutions. In my environmental scan of our system as well as an analysis of best practices nationwide, USC Upstate is clearly the system leader in working with its regional technical colleges to facilitate transfer. And this is exactly what a comprehensive institution should be doing. The program that you have instituted is one that should be adopted as a best practice across all of our campuses. It is student focused and develops clear pathways for students, taking into account the undergraduate degree they would eventually like to obtain. There is a tremendous amount of faculty and staff work that went into this program and they should be applauded for these efforts. Throughout the past few months, it is clear to me that as a system we have a number of MOUs 14

with many other institutions to smooth transitions to our universities. These agreements are not systematically organized and—frankly--are hard for a student or a parent to find. Developing a system level web site that shows students and advisors throughout the state in a clear, timely and compelling way how to plan their education will help students to take the courses which not only transfer but count toward the specific educational goal they are trying to reach. This year, the Chancellors and the President signed an agreement with the South Carolina Technical Colleges that we will accept students who have completed the associate’s degree of arts or of science into our universities. SC Technical colleges graduate about 10,000 associate degree candidates per year. About one half of these students are clearly bound for a bachelor’s degree, so this is a large number of students seeking higher education. This agreement (to be formally announced next month) demonstrates to our citizens that we can and do cooperate with the 16 technical colleges in our state in the interests of our students. This agreement will set the stage for our continued requests for funding for our universities and, in your case, for specialized funding to create innovative programs – bachelor of applied sciences in advanced manufacturing management and a new urban and regional studies institute, as well as more funding for the engineering technology management program. Our leadership is working tirelessly to convince our legislators that higher education is the key to economic prosperity. The more we increase educational attainment in our state, the more opportunities we have to attract new businesses with higher paying jobs. In addition to our MOUs and transfer agreements, Upstate has been involved with Palmetto College to offer important degree completion programs. The RN to BSN program and the criminal justice program have been very successful ones that have contributed to advancing the college completion rate. A review of the strategic plans of the institutions in our system reveals that, although the emphasis of each one varies slightly in ways that are meaningful to their communities, all of us are committed to innovation in education and to developing new degrees, programs and certificates that better serve the regional economic development needs of their communities.

We share common goals; each of our institutions is striving to: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Assure the highest quality educational experiences Increase enrollment Retain students in order to graduate more well-educated citizens. Develop and manage resources effectively, efficiently and ethically. Create collaborative partnerships to advance community, region and state

As you know, the enrollment of students at USC Upstate has hit 6,000, and you have instituted successful programs to increase your retention and graduation rate. When in our retention programs, sharing what works across the state is also an agenda item for this new unit. We need to identify and enhance initiatives to promote degree completion. And it may be that it is difficult to find support for one institution’s initiatives to expand evidence-based student success intervention strategies, but system level proposals could have more success. It is powerful when 15

we can discuss a state wide strategy enacted by our key institutions and many foundations seem more interested in larger collaborations across institutions than in single institution proposals. I just flew back from Shanghai where I attended the 10th Global Confucius Institute conference on behalf of Harris Pastides. For 7 years, Columbia has hosted a Confucius Institute dedicated to teaching the Chinese language and to fostering outreach activities. In my meetings with our Board, I discussed the possibilities of extending our work beyond Columbia to other universities in our system. We have had preliminary talks with some key leaders here at Upstate who are excited about the possibilities of providing funding to facilitate programming and faculty research in this area. It is a major tenet of Harris’s administration that postsecondary education is the key strategy for creating good jobs, improving public health, promoting and enhancing citizenship and civic engagement, strengthening the economy, and offering cultural opportunities and a higher quality of life for South Carolinians. Collaboration and learning best practices across the system and insuring that these best practices are celebrated throughout the state is a vital to this mission. I have had a remarkable first few months in this new role and have enjoyed the opportunity to learn more about the accomplishments of the faculty, staff and students across our system. I have found that the basic tenet of system theory that “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” is an apt description of our system. Thank you, and I look forward to learning more about the achievements and initiatives of the faculty and staff at USC Upstate over the next few months.

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