Greenville Technical College students got a huge boost as the state offered to foot the bill for tuition in the governor’s ambitious plan to train up students for the state’s ever-growing need for trained employees. That, and the school’s new student success center opened its doors this year. Meanwhile, the debate over masking, more pay for teachers and the University of South Carolina’s president search rounded out the top stories for 2021.
McMaster announces $17 million tech schools scholarship plan, asks for $124 million more
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster rolled out a plan to use funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to make technical colleges free for in-state students. The initial investment of $17 million covers tuition for students looking to get into a number of high-demand careers, and he asked the state legislature to provide $124 million more in funding to cover scholarships through 2024.
“This funding will take on the crisis head-on by providing thousands of South Carolinians with the skills needed to thrive in a number of high-demand careers,” he said.
Any adult or recent high school graduate in South Carolina is eligible for the program, with fields of study in manufacturing, health care, computer science and IT, logistics/transportation and construction being eligible.
To mask or not to mask — issue dominates again in 2021
A number of educational institutions struggled with masks guidelines as the COVID-19 seemed to ease before the delta variant bore down on the Upstate later in the year.
- Clemson University loosened its mask restrictions Oct. 25, 2021 as COVID-19 cases continued to drop. Officials had previously extended the requirement through Oct. 8.
- Bob Jones University brought back campus-wide masking policies in September to stem the tide of COVID. This was after they had de-escalated their masking protocols in March.
- Greenville County Schools issued a statement Aug. 16 saying bullying children wearing masks would not be tolerated, along with laying out best practices for containing the spread of the virus, like hand washing, social distancing and mask-wearing. This came after students returned to school without plexiglass dividers and with most students in physical classrooms.
- Greenville Tech made masks mandatory at the end of summer after the delta variant of the virus began to take hold, making them mandatory virtually everywhere.
Greenville Technical College celebrated the Dreisbach-Anderson Student Success Center
Greenville Technical College opened its newest building Aug. 24, the Dreisbach-Anderson Student Success Center. The $2 million gift provided by Greenville Tech alumna Dodie Anderson allowed for the renovation of the building to become a valuable resource on campus.
The Dreisbach-Anderson Student Success Center provides students with services including assistance in enrollment, career planning, financial aid, placement testing and more. GTC hopes it will serve students “whose life trajectory would be changed here at Greenville Tech,” said the building’s other namesake, Daniel Dreisbach, the so-far only Rhodes Scholar to come out of the South Carolina technical college system as well as a classmate of Anderson.
Greenville County Schools approved $1,000 increase in base pay for teachers
Greenville County Schools increased the annual pay teachers received by $1,000, in hopes of retaining more educators.
The starting pay for GCS teachers is $42,515 per year, and the increase will cost the state an additional $6.96 million. Moreover, nurses, audiologists, occupational therapists and physical therapists will receive the $1,000 increase as well. Bus driver pay increased. Officials said there were 600 teaching openings going into the fall, and they were hoping this would alleviate some of that crunch.
Former UofSC President Pastides returns after Caslen’s abrupt resignation
What’s old is new again, as former President Harris Pastides, who served from 2008 to 2019 was invited back to be interim president at the school. His predecessor, Bob Caslen, had suddenly resigned on May 13 after controversy arose over his commencement speech, including accusations of plagiarism and calling UofSC the “University of California.”
He’s hoping to make the transition as easy as possible for the next president, and he’s committing to one year at the school before moving on.
