We hold that the university expand recruitment efforts in order to increase racial diversity on our campus by:
- a) Creating a minority scholars program through the South Carolina Honors College, Capstone Scholars and Top Scholars programs that provides financial aid and mentorship for minorities.
- b) Increasing funding for Diversity and Inclusion recruitment in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
- c) Increasing funding for the Grace Jordan McFadden Professors Program and other opportunities specific to underrepresented graduate students, both masters and doctoral.
- d) Improving the relative racial/ethnic and gender representation in the selection of our university’s higher administration, faculty and staff.
Student diversity
Strategies/Action Plan
- Increase need-based financial aid, including advocating for an increase in the statuary
4% limit on tuition revenue allocation.
- Timeline: Pending legislative action during current session, which ends June 2021, target FY 2023
- The Office of Admissions has secured funding to double the size of the Summer Seniors
program, a summer pre-college program for high achieving African American high school seniors
from South Carolina.
- Timeline: Summer 2021
- Creation of the Undergraduate Admissions Diversity Advisory Council (UADAC), a collaborative
networking opportunity for our recruitment staff, high school counselors at schools
with high concentrations with low-SES and high minority student populations, and CBOs
(community-based organizations).
- Timeline: complete
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions
- Created a program that students from underrepresented South Carolina high schools
can earn micro-scholarships throughout high school, if the students attend UofSC.
- Timeline: complete
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions
- A test-optional admissions policy that will evaluate its efficacy and impact on diversity
of the freshman class as well as student success.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions
- Admissions is piloting a collaborative effort with the Career Center to provide admitted under-reprepresented minority students with early career exploration and
career counseling prior to enrollment. Under-represented minority students from South
Carolina can take the SuperStrong Interest Inventory career assessment and discuss
the results with a career counselor.
- Timeline: Spring 2021
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions and Career Center
- The Visitor Center now offers diversity, equity and inclusion focused informational
meetings with university staff and current students as part of the overall visit experience.
- Timeline: Complete
- Who is responsible: Visitor Center
- Providing admissions marketing materials and content in Spanish
- Timeline: Complete
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions
- Increase outreach to encourage students to apply to the Honors College, and to encourage admitted students
to attend the South Carolina Honors College.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Office of Admissions and South Carolina Honors College
Faculty staff diversity
Strategies/Action Plan
- All supervisors are required to attend LEAD (Supervisory Essentials) program where an interviewing and selection class is provided.
- Training requirements for search committee members will be enhanced to include comprehensive
training for members and diversity toolkit.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Human Resources in collaboration with Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Office of Equal Opportunity Programs
- Human Resources has requested funding to promote jobs on sites like Chronicle of Higher
Education.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Human Resources in collaboration with Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Office of Equal Opportunity Programs
- Human Resources is implementing systematic exit interview process.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Human Resources in collaboration Strategic Planning Group 4 subgroup on hiring and retention
- The Office of Equal Opportunity Programs is exploring options to add bias training
for faculty and staff, which is in addition to the current prevention and harassment
training.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: The Office of Equal Opportunity Programs
- Hiring director of diversity education and inclusive excellence to increase capacity and professional
development relating the recruitment/retention of a diverse faculty and staff.
- Timeline: In progress
- Who is responsible: Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion