South Carolina State trustees voted Sept. 24 to end eight degree programs with years of low enrollment. The programs have 111 students combined; current students can finish their degrees, and some courses will remain in other programs or the core curriculum.
The programs are art education, business education, social studies education, dramatic arts education, technology education, middle-level education, mathematics and mechanical engineering technology. University leaders said the cuts would redirect resources to other campus needs and better match degree offerings to what students take. The university said its mechanical engineering program is better suited to accommodate students than the program being cut.
S.C. State also closed more than 200 course sections with fewer than 10 students this semester. President Alexander Conyers said the section closures and degree cuts together would save more than $5 million. The university has not said how staffing will change, but said professors will still be needed to teach out the programs and lead retained core classes. A similar proposal was shelved in 2023 after faculty and student backlash.
