USC trustees OK tuition cuts at several branches

COLUMBIA, S.C — The University of South Carolina's board of trustees has approved tuition cuts at its campus in Beaufort and its two-year branches to avoid a moratorium on construction ordered by the state Budget and Control Board.

The new rates take effect in spring 2011.

The change cuts undergraduate resident tuition $92 per semester at Beaufort and drops it by $12 per semester for resident tuition and fees at the two-year campuses, said USC spokeswoman Margaret Lamb.

The cuts came in response to a decision by the budget board last month to halt construction at campuses where tuition hikes exceeded 7 percent. USC is the third state school to make such reductions.

The Budget and Control Board's order applied to four-year schools that raised in-state tuition more than 7 percent and two-year schools where tuition increased more than 6.3 percent.

It exempted projects funded solely by private donations, those for maintenance, such as leaky roofs, and safety improvements.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hugh Leatherman, one of five budget board members, had warned colleges not to hike their tuition too much amid the recession. When many did anyway — including two Charleston colleges — he took action.

The Citadel, where tuition increased 13 percent, has no construction projects planned. The College of Charleston enacted the biggest hike at nearly 15 percent.

Most universities said they needed to increase tuition to help offset cuts in state financial support.

Ted Moore, USC vice president and its chief financial officer, said the rollback will be most difficult for USC Beaufort.

In a release, Moore said Beaufort has the lowest tuition of any public baccalaureate institution in the state.

"If we were not to comply with the moratorium, USC Beaufort would be unable to upfit the second floor of the library, and that would impact our students and the academic mission," Moore said.

The trustees decided to cut a 9.5 percent tuition hike at USC Beaufort to 7 percent. It also cut increases at two-year campuses in Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter and Union from 6.5 percent to 6.08 percent.

Classroom additions were planned at Lancaster.

Now, tuition at the two-year schools will be $2,932 per semester, while Beaufort's resident undergraduate tuition will drop from $3,970 to $3878, Lamb said.