In-state enrollment may affect funding

By Claire Byun

byunc@mytjnow.com

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the second story of a four-part series about the “measurables” Gov. Haley  has put in place to determine state funding for universities.

Following Governor Nikki Haley’s outline, Winthrop must provide the most recent data on in-state and out-of-state enrollment. 

For state schools to receive funding, each university must provide the governor’s office with four “measurables,” Haley said.

While the first request involved Winthrop’s graduation rates for four-year and six-year tracks, the second includes the amount of students kept in South Carolina.

Winthrop’s in-state enrollment for the 2009-2010 year was 84 percent, said Rebecca Masters, assistant to the president for public affairs. 

Out of the total 5,244 South Carolina students, 25.4 percent are African-American, Masters said.

Out-of-state enrollment for the year was 16 percent, which equates to 997 students. 

Though those percentages are from the last academic year, Winthrop does not anticipate in-state enrollment to greatly change.

“We expect it to be between 83 and 84 percent for the current year as well,” Masters said.

Graduation rates, job placement of graduates, and the school’s role in economic development within the community, are the other three measurements. 

College presidents will meet again with the governor in April to further define the measurements, as well as understand how they will be used in funding guidelines, Haley said.