I. Mission

"The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education will promote quality and efficiency in the State system of higher education with the goal of fostering economic growth and human development in South Carolina."

 II. Functions

In order to fulfill the Commission’s mission statement, the following functions are performed.

A. To provide pertinent information about higher education to parents and students, and to promote access to higher education.

B. To review and approve new degree program proposals and evaluate existing academic programs.

C. To develop and maintain a process by which annual appropriation requests are based on institutional performance, and to submit these and capital improvement requests to the Budget and Control Board and the General Assembly.

D. To administer State, regional, and federal programs affecting South Carolina higher education.

E. To maintain a Statewide planning and institutional effectiveness system.

F. To monitor implementation and evaluate the effectiveness of programs designed to provide minority groups with access to and equality of higher education opportunities.

G. To examine and license non-public educational institutions.

H. To make recommendations by means of data collection, research, and studies, to the Governor, the Budget and Control Board, and the General Assembly regarding policies, roles, operations, and structure of South Carolina's higher education institutions.

I. To maintain Statewide higher education data collection.

J. To establish procedures for the transferability of courses at the undergraduate level between two-year and four-year institutions.

K. To coordinate with the State Board of Education in determining minimum academic expectations and requirements and approving appropriate secondary courses for prospective post-secondary students.

L. To review minimum undergraduate admissions standards for in-state and out-of- state students.

M. To reduce, expand, or consolidate; and beginning July 1, 1999, close any institution which does not meet the standards of achievement enumerated in Section 59-103-30 of the Code of Laws of South Carolina.

N. To review and approve each institutional mission statement to ensure it is within the overall mission of that particular type of institution as stipulated by Section 59-103-15 and is within the overall mission of the State.

III. Goals

In performing the Commission’s work, the following goals have been established to provide guidance and evidence of direction for future work.

A. To make South Carolina a global leader by working with business and industry to foster higher education's role in economic growth and human development.

B. To maintain positive relations with the governor, the legislature, State agencies, parents, and students and to provide them and the general public with accurate information on South Carolina higher Education.

C. To present the needs and develop support for appropriate funding of public colleges and universities.

D. To address strategic issues in public and private higher education as they are identified, and to ensure a continuous process of assessment and improvement in the colleges and universities.

E. To assure access to and equality of educational opportunity among minority groups in South Carolina higher education.

F. To promote quality and diversity in the academic offerings of institutions of higher learning.

G. To prevent and eliminate unnecessary duplication of degree programs among the State's institutions.

H. To expand postsecondary educational opportunities for South Carolina residents, to recognize student achievement, and to encourage excellence in teaching and research by administering various higher education programs.

I. To ensure that non-public educational institutions, other than those exempted in the statutes, are legitimate educational enterprises and that they are fulfilling their purposes.

We would like to hear your comments and suggestions.  Please send them to Ms. Lynn Metcalf at lmetcalf@che.sc.gov