For South Carolina:
A Path to Excellence
Since 1801, the University of South Carolina has shared the goals, triumphs and hardships of its state. South Carolina, one of the fastest-growing flagship universities in the nation, offers abundant opportunities for students to succeed, from cutting-edge research initiatives to highly personal student services, from top-ranked academic programs to top-ranked athletics teams.
As our world changes constantly — sometimes seemingly overnight — an agile university committed to properly serving its students, community and state well into the future must periodically reevaluate its priorities, opportunities and goals. It is in this light that a new strategic plan has been created to propel the University of South Carolina to future successes.
There are challenges ahead for higher education all over the country. But in its history, the University of South Carolina has perhaps never been so well-prepared to tackle the future and succeed: South Carolina has never been so highly regarded, highly accomplished or highly sought-after as a destination for those seeking a top-notch degree. To continue to be a leading public research university, South Carolina must constantly improve its technology, facilities and programs and identify areas of strength and opportunities to assess the current social, political and economic landscapes, deal with funding issues and find new resources. South Carolina is known for having an indomitable spirit; with proper foresight, planning and execution, that spirit will lead us through today’s — and tomorrow’s — challenges.
Strategic Priority
The Best Students
Attract, inspire, challenge and enable our students to become innovative thinkers and transformative leaders.
Goals
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Attract and retain a highly qualified, appropriately sized and diverse student body at all levels.
Objectives
- Recruit, retain and graduate high-achieving students
- Become more accessible and affordable for all students
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Provide the highest quality of rigorous instruction and student-centric educational experience to all students.
Objectives
- Improve students’ critical thinking and analytical skills
- Integrate academic learning and student-life engagements
- Provide superior graduate and other post-baccalaureate programs
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Create innovative, transformative and collaborative lifelong learners.
Objectives
- Leverage the Carolina Core
- Increase experiential learning opportunities
Strategic Priority
World-Class Faculty and Staff
Assemble and cultivate a world-class faculty and staff.
Goals
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Recruit and develop diverse faculty members who are excellent instructors and recognized scholars with a breadth of experience.
Objectives
- Secure top talent
- Increase proportion of underrepresented faculty members
- Empower, engage and retain faculty members
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Actively attract, recruit, hire and retain a diverse and highly talented staff.
Objectives
- Hire the highest quality staff
- Increase staff retention and productivity
- Improve workforce diversity through all levels of the organization
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Produce and instill a shared culture of excellence.
Objectives
- Faculty and staff members will live the university’s organizational values
- Improve the campus climate
- Support employee health and well-being
Strategic Priority
Outstanding Research
Create new pathways to research excellence in order to become Association of American Universities eligible.
Goals
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Promote research excellence and innovation through enhancement of Phase I indicators.
Objectives
- Increase federal research expenditures
- Increase faculty membership in the National Academies
- Increase faculty awards, fellowships and memberships
- Increase citations of publications
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Promote research excellence and innovation through enhancement of Phase II indicators.
Objectives
- Increase USDA, state and industrial research funding
- Increase annual Ph.D. graduation numbers
- Increase the number of postdoctoral appointees
Strategic Priority
Increase Diversity
Cultivate a more diverse, equitable and inclusive campus culture where every individual, regardless of background, has the full opportunity to flourish and thrive.
Goals
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Improve the relative racial/ethnic and gender representation of our student body, staff and faculty.
Objectives
- Align student population with diversity of our state
- Ensure professional/administrative staff reflects diversity of our state
- Transform full-time faculty to be in closer alignment with diversity of student body
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Ensure that there is equity for all students and staff and faculty members across key measures of success.
Objectives
- Improve academic outcomes for students from underrepresented, low-income and other marginalized groups
- Ensure transparent, better and more equitable outcomes for all staff members
- Ensure transparent, better and more equitable outcomes for all faculty members
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Create, promote, support and assess a campus culture/climate that embodies our Carolinian Creed and makes every member of our university community feel that they are valued and affirmed.
Objectives
- Increase engagement of entire campus community
- Improve sense of inclusion and belonging for everyone
Strategic Priority
Integrated and Interoperative System
Harness the power, attributes and institutional diversity of an integrated and interoperative university system that enhances access, success and affordability for every eligible S.C. student.
Goals
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Develop an internal university system governance structure that establishes high-impact autonomy, service excellence and consistent policies while optimizing performance.
Objectives
- Provide a collaborative structure for strategic university system decisions
- Assess points of intersection and shared services to improve core functions of the university system
- Ensure effective and efficient coordination of enrollment management
- Facilitate strategic systemwide new program planning to maximize efficiencies
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Establish an integrated online program management enterprise that maximizes access and affordability for both traditional and nontraditional students in S.C. and beyond.
Objectives
- Provide collaborative governance and support for online and related distance learning delivery models
- Support robust systemwide online/distance programs and courses
- Develop efficient collaborative model for online/distance delivery
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Leverage the university system to provide accelerated, lower-cost multidegree options for students.
Objectives
- Remove barriers to transfer within system institutions
- Facilitate affordability for students of courses, concentrations and certificates offered by sister system institutions
- Expand unique degree program offerings and graduate degree program enrollment
Strategic Priority
Community Partnerships
Spur innovation and economic development through impactful community partnerships.
Goals
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Create future opportunities in research, education and scholarship through state, federal and industry partnerships.
Objectives
- Expand collaboration and research with federal partners
- Increase collaboration with entrepreneurs/private industry
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Be an engine for business development in the state of South Carolina.
Objectives
- Increase the university’s annual economic impact on the state
- Enable faculty members and students to access funding and engage the business community
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Expand community partnerships to create business opportunities, develop new relationships and increase experiential learning.
Objectives
- Increase student research and community service engagement to meet state/regional workforce needs
- Foster innovation-based economic development
- Create partnerships to integrate student living/learning and community service with the private and public sectors
Strategic Priority
Excellent Infrastructure
Provide a sustainable campus infrastructure — physical, virtual, fundraising and administrative — that supports academic excellence and preeminent student life.
Goals
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Provide a physical campus that supports the academic and student life needs of the modern and future university while ensuring the safety of the university community.
Objectives
- Create a system of renovation and construction that meets the university’s modern and future needs
- Ensure maximum personal and asset security
- Ensure efficient movement of people, goods and traffic across the campus community
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Provide a state-of-the-art virtual infrastructure that supports delivery of academic content and facilitates highly competitive research.
Objectives
- Align IT initiatives with the university’s teaching and research missions
- Enhance the student digital experience
- Provide a flexible and reliable technology infrastructure
- Continually mature the university’s IT governance model to meet future needs
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Grow fundraising and external funding activities to significantly impact and improve the university’s capital, scholarship and academic programs.
Objectives
- Improve private, corporate and research support
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Ensure administrative activity is focused on innovation, preparedness and increasing transparency.
Objectives
- Foster continual innovation by using a structured, shared governance approach to decision-making and information dissemination
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Promote a framework for national leadership in institutional sustainability.
Objectives
- Promote and support a collaborative universitywide commitment to sustainability
- Implement environmentally sustainable planning and design
- Conserve natural resources and energy
Strategic Priority
Win With Character
Build teams that win with excellence and character.
Goals
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NCAA Teams will compete at the upper level of their potential at all times.
Objectives
- Have winning records
- Achieve postseason play
- Defeat opponents ranked lower nationally, and win at least half of games against higher-ranked opponents
- Beat Clemson
- Win the Palmetto Series annually
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UofSC will ensure the holistic development of student-athletes, measured by graduation, academic achievement and student-athlete wellness.
Objectives
- Exceed SEC average on NCAA Graduation Success Rate and Academic Progress Rate
- Ensure each student-athlete receives support needed for academic success, professional development and student wellness
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Create and foster a campus environment that drives a winning attitude while instilling character and integrity in competition and in life.
Objectives
- Create a campus culture that teaches and encourages students to strive for excellence
- Students in all competitions (academic, arts, sciences, etc.) will compete to win and represent the university with character and integrity
- Club sports teams will compete to win and exercise character and integrity at all times
- Increase number of students who win national fellowships and scholarships
If you would like the full For South Carolina: A Path to Excellence strategic plan as a PDF, please submit your name and email.