May 20, 2014
THIS WEEK IN SOUTH CAROLINA There are 9 legislative days left in the session. By law, the General Assembly must adjourn on June 5 but may return to finish work on the budget or other items agreed on by both bodies. Primaries are set for June 10th and the General Election is November 4th. The South Carolina House of Representatives and Constitutional Officers are up for election this year, as well as the entire US House of Representatives and 33 US Senate seats.
The current version of the bill would keep MUSC and the College of Charleston separate, and designate a component of the College of Charleston as a research institution, which would receive a separate state appropriation and be eligible for endowed chairs. The College of Charleston would remain a liberal arts institution and the research university component would be used to offer graduate-level courses and expanded research efforts in the area. The proposal was further amended to ensure that the University of Charleston, South Carolina, would not duplicate degree programs already offered by other higher education institutions in the Charleston region.
BUDGET
The Senate adopted the recommendations of the Senate Finance Committee's version of the budget as it relates to Clemson University. Specifically, it includes the following:
Clemson E&G - $1 million in recurring funding for Student Career Opportunity Programs (on-campus internships) - $400,000 in recurring funding for Focus on Student Success (increasing 4-year graduation rates) - $1.6 million in nonrecurring funding for critical electrical upgrades
Clemson PSA - $750,000 in recurring funding for the Agribusiness and Emerging Farmers Extension program - $750,000 in recurring funding for Precision Agriculture and Environmental Technology Research - $3 million in nonrecurring funding for Agriculture and Natural Resources Research Equipment
This version of the budget funded additional dollars for critical equipment repair and replacement for higher education institutions. Each institution's specific allocation will be distributed on a pro rata basis and will require match dollars.
Also included is a 1.5% cost of living pay increase for state employees as well as a $300 bonus for each state employee. The budget includes an increase in the cost of health insurance for state employees, which will be paid by the state. Under this plan, state employees would see a small co-pay increase.
The budget now goes to back to the South Carolina House of Representatives and then to a conference committee which will negotiate the differences in the House and Senate versions.
From a state budgeting standpoint, Clemson is considered two separate state agencies: a research university that receives an educational and general (E&G) state appropriation for teaching and student support, and a land-grant Public Services Activities (PSA) division that receives a state appropriation to support agriculture, forestry and natural resource Extension, research and regulatory programs.
Detailed information on Clemson's 2014 state legislative and budget priorities for FY 2014-15 may be found at these links:
THE CLEMSON UNIVERSITY ENTERPRISE ACT
The bill was amended to provide "regulatory relief" in the area of the capital improvement process (facilities approval) for all higher education institutions in the state. The amendment was offered by Chairman Brian White and was unanimously adopted by the Committee.
The next step for the bill will be to go to the full House of Representatives.
BILLS OF INTEREST The Clemson University Governmental Affairs office is monitoring several bills that have potential impact on Clemson. A complete listing of these bills may be found here. Click on the bill number for a description of the legislation, along with the bill's current status.
CLEMSON ON CAPITOL HILL Markey-Hatch Student Data Privacy Bill Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) circulated a draft bill last week to amend and modernize the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). The bill is intended to increase protection for student information, especially data held by third parties, but has yet to be officially introduced. The Senators plan to work with stakeholders to review the bill and consider revisions based on the feedback they receive in the coming weeks. Among the changes to current law that are found in the bill, schools receiving federal funds would be required to do the following: - Adopt adequate policies and practices to protect student data; - Require contractors, volunteers, consultants and others who store or maintain student data to comply with the school's data protection policies and procedures; - Keep records identifying each third party given access to student records; - Ensure that each third party provides at least the same level of privacy protections for the student data as the agencies and schools; - Ensure that the third parties have mechanisms to correct and update the student data; and - Require third parties to destroy personal student data after a student is no longer enrolled in the school or served by the agency. Upcoming Hearings: Monday, May 19: The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs' Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight will hold a roundtable discussion on the Clery Act, Campus SaVE Act, and policies to combat rape and sexual assaults on college campuses. This is the first of three roundtables on the topic planned by Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Thursday, May 22: The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing titled "Examining Access and Supports for Service members and Veterans in Higher Education."
FYI
As part of the Clemson Day activities, resolutions were passed by the House and Senate recognizing the 100th Anniversary of the Smith-Lever Act which established the Cooperative Extension Service using the "Clemson Model" of extension. The Smith-Lever Act was co-authored by Congressman Frank Lever of South Carolina, a Clemson University Successor Trustee. The family of the late Congressman Frank Lever was honored in the House and Senate during Clemson Day at the State House.
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