Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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USC president petitions state for more funds Sorensen seeks to prove higher education is a solid investment BY KEVIN FELLNER THE UAMEC0CK Under new leadership with new directives, USC hopes to stave off financial catastrophe while spending enough money on improvements to attract stu dents in the coming years. University President Andrew Sorensen Kicked off the new school year Wednesday by pre-' senting tothe state Commission on Higher Education reasons why the university should get generous state funding from leg islators. Sorensen covered uni versity issues in an effort to prove the university is a good investment for South Carolina. “I think the members of the commission were particularly impressed with Dr. Sorensen, and I think that USC made a par ticularly compelling case for our budget needs,” commission board member Miles Loadholt said. “Hopefully, the state will respond with the proper appro priations because you know we’re going to have to face an other round of cuts.” Loadholt’s prediction comes from a slumping economy and the $249 million deficit last fiscal year in state appropriations. About $14.3 million, or 8.6 per cent, of the university’s perma nent budget has been eliminated after two budget cuts last year. Inevitable budget problems led the administration to prepare a restructuring plan based on a report from the university’s Strategic Directives and Initiatives Committee. The Value Centered Management plan, ap proved in May, was praised by the CHE as a way to save the state millions while maintaining the university’s integrity. Along with the restructuring plan, the board voted in June to raise tuition 17 percent starting ♦ TUITION, SEE PAGE A4 Freshman CONTINUED FROM PAGE A1 Statistics and formulas The admissions department uses a regres ' sion formula to gauge about how many stu dents will actually enroll at the university after they are accepted. Pruitt called these yields “very consistent over time,” providing a se ries of statistical influences to help universi ty officials predict the size of incoming classes. But this year, a series of uncontrolled in fluences increased those yields by nearly four percent, making the enrollment harder to pre dict. This caused university officials to rethink their enrollment management plan in order to better control the population. For the first time in USC’s history, next year’s freshman class will be required to pay a tuition deposit to give officials a better feel for who is serious about coming. “In the past, students have sighed an en rollment card that let us know when the stu dents are coming up,” Pruitt said. The deposit would be nothing more than an advanced pay ment on tuition and would be refunded if stu dents changed their minds by May 1. Another change will be in student accep tance. “We’re going to admit a smaller percentage of students earlier on in the year, and put oth ers in a holding pattern until we see the quali fications in February,” Pruitt said. “And then we’ll admit them in February based upon the size and caliber of that pool.” The caliber of this year’s applicant pool was surprisingly higher than last year’s, with fresh man SAT scores up 11 points to 1130 and Honors College SAT scores up 24 points to 1397. Pruitt called the increases a “phenomenon.” “Usually, when you have more students, your SATs go down,” Pruitt said. “It’s very odd.” Housing with room service As university housing undergoes im provements, demand for on-campus housing By the Numbers FRESHMAN HOTEL DORMS Floors Male Female Total Holiday Inn 4 and 5 46 48 94 Clarion Townhouse 1 and 2 56 44 100 Adam’s Mark 3 and 4 50 54 . 104 FRESHMAN CLASS DATA 2001-2002 2003-2004 Undergraduate SAT 1119 1130 Honors College SAT 1373 1397 Scholarships Enrolled Average SAT National Merit Scholars 35 1481 Palmetto Fellows 251 1330 Alumni Scholars 24 1356 CLASS GENDER BREAKDOWN IN STATE/OUT OF STATE 45 percent male 75 percent in state 55 percent female 25 percent out of state has risen to all-time highs, creating space problems with so many new students. It’s a problem that Pruitt says belongs to the stu dents. “Everybody had an equal opportunity to ap ply for housing,” he said. “Those students who applied by the deadline, every single one of them got housing.” The university helped those students who applied after the deadline to find off-cam pus housing, and ended up sending students to three area hotels to spend their fall semester. Last year marked the first time since the late ‘70s that students were sent to hotels, with 90 students put up at the Holiday Inn on Assembly Street. This year, more than 300 stu dents are living at the Holiday Inn, Adam's Mark, and Clarion hotels. “We actually had people ask to be assigned to them,” Housing Director Gene Luna said. “People seemed generally excited.” But some worry that students will be spoiled by the maid service and pool access many of them enjoy. “In any situation, we’d rather have all our students in our properties,” Luna said. “Having linen service and maid service is not the kind of independent living that we are go ing to encourage folks to get used to in resi dence halls.” Despite the increases in enrollment and limited housing choices, Luna remains opti mistic with the completion of the Greek Village next fall and the soon-to-be con structed West Quad dorm, which will creaAt 500 additional spaces. U “It doesn’t really frustrate me; it poses some new challenges,” Luna said. “It’s been an interesting summer, and it will be an in teresting fall in some new and different ways.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockudesk@hotmail.com According to the Recreation Department’s Web site, the new center will boast, among other amenities, an eight-lane pool, an indoor running track, six rac quetball courts, spacious workJ out rooms, four basketball courts, an indoor climbing wall and lock er rooms complete with saunas and whirlpools. Despite rumors that students will have to buy memberships to use the sports facilities, all en rolled students with a valid USC ID card will be allowed to use them. A The center will not come, how* ever, without a price. According to Ken Corbett, director of capi tal finance and special projects, students will pay $31 million of the total $49 million cost. Students will feel the impact through a fee increase of $105 each semester. South Carolina, federal and USC funds will pay for the other $18 million. Though fitness centers do not usually factor into college rank ings, they still can become an im portant attraction for many stu dents. USC is following a nation wide campus trend of building large recreational facilities that provide many opportunities for students to get involved in spui According to Herbert Camp^ director of campus recreation^ USC’s newest sporting facility was modeled after fitness centers at the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University and Mississippi State University. Over the past five years, USC’s fit ness facilities have lagged behind other schools’. But with the help of the Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center, the school hopes to compete with the schools whose centers USC’s was mod eled after; the university has gone ♦ WElIlNESS, SEE PAGE A81 New fees to fund Wellness* Center Students will pay $105 more each semester BY SCOTT HARDIN THE GAMECOCK — Greeting students arriving on campus this fall semester is the new 192,000-square-foot Strom Thurmond Fitness and Wellness Center on the corner of Blossom and Assembl^Jp streets. This coliseum of fitness will house the school’s recre ation facilities for students and fapultv Looking for something unique? Visit Latin Heat with a Caribbean Breeze! O Latin Artwork O Jewelry QCIothing for Women and Men O Shoes Complimentary Caribbean coffees while shopping!! strand Opening Saturday, August 24th _Columbiana Place Shopping Center t l I . > <