SGA President Proud to Be a Pacer

This Aiken Native is a Junior Majoring in Biology with a Pre-Med Concentration

by Q'Ladrin Qourters

Aiken, SC (09/21/2019) — As the newly elected student government president, I am super excited to have started this year's classes at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

All summer, fellow student-leaders, called Pacesetters, welcomed our new freshmen to USC Aiken during orientation, and recently, all of our student leaders joined together for our annual leadership retreat to get us ready to head into the new year.

USC Aiken offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificates.

We have five colleges:

• Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
• Nursing,
• Education,
• Business Administration
• And Sciences and Engineering.

Historically, public comprehensive colleges and state universities have been viewed as significant and important social investments, founded on the belief that higher education was not a luxury but a necessity and that an education should be made available to all, including women and minorities.

Comprehensive universities are key to regional economic development.

USC Aiken continues to fulfill the original purpose and is in the perfect position to address the changing demographics in South Carolina because of the emphasis on teaching and learning and because of the support systems built to help all students succeed, especially those who may have been previously excluded from educational opportunities.

The diversity of our student body supports the mission of providing opportunity and access in an accepting and inclusive educational environment, all at a reasonable cost. Currently, 86 percent of our 3,700 member student body is from the state of South Carolina; 40 percent are first-generation students, and 41 percent are non-White students.

With a reasonable tuition, 30 percent of our students graduate without any debt at all, and of those who do need to borrow money to attend college, the average debt is $20,000. That's less than the average cost of a used car.

USC Aiken has done much to provide opportunities for students to graduate "on their timeline" by adding more online course options. We provide nearly 500 online course sections today.

This sensitivity to student needs is one of the reasons that our full-time student success rate is 82 percent.

For all our courses, USC Aiken keeps its student-to-faculty ratio very low, 15:1, so faculty can - and do - personally engage students.

Experiential learning is the primary manner in which content is delivered.

Pacers are engaged in service learning, undergraduate research, international study abroad opportunities, required internships and other innovative ways that promote critical thinking and problem solving.

USC Aiken is South Carolina's only institution that is a member of COPLAC, which is the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. COPLAC is a very special designation because typically, only one institution in the state receives it. Aiken was selected for that designation in 2012 and maintains it still today.

USC Aiken has received U.S. News and World Report's #1 ranking for public regional comprehensives 14 times. We've been ranked #1 out of a competitive pool of more than 500 institutions more often than any other institution in South Carolina.

Additionally, twice in the last two years, we were designated as one of America's Colleges of Distinction. We've also been rated "A Great College to Work For" by the Chronicle of Higher Education twice in the past five years.

We've also been highly ranked for our work with Veterans and Military Students: #1 in the South by U.S. News and World Report, a Military Friendly institution, "Best for Vets," "Military Spouse Friendly," not to mention accolades from five other independent entities.

Whether through one-on-one undergraduate research, traditional classroom interactions, experiential learning opportunities or any one of the high-impact practices employed at USC Aiken, students are the #1 priority.

Our faculty, staff and administrators are committed to each Pacers' intellectual, emotional, social, and professional development.

One of the unique ways USC Aiken provides an exceptional education is with our leadership certificate program, which is tailored to each student's interest and allows us opportunities to work closely with community, business, and elected leaders and provides critical soft skills training, career readiness, and leadership development.

Studies show that those engaged outside the classroom, perform better academically and have a greater sense of belonging. USC Aiken has more than 95 clubs and organizations, including 13 national fraternities and sororities and 10 NCAA Division II sports teams.

As a comprehensive university, we work hard to build strong ties to our region and community, including the Savannah River Site, and the Savannah River National Lab. Those close relationships include the city of Aiken

We enjoy a close working relationship with the City of Aiken. The mayor is a grad and continues to be a tremendous supporter of USC Aiken. Student-leaders meet regularly with elected and administrative leaders in Aiken to explore ways to strengthen the relationship.

As I mentioned, USC Aiken has a highly diverse student body. Our chancellor and leadership are focused on making ours a campus where every student, faculty member and staff personnel feel they belong.

Due to the experiences and education that my twin sister and I are receiving at USC Aiken, we both feel we'll be well prepared to enter medical school upon graduation. The educational approach at USC Aiken strengthens Pacers real-world skills, gives us a breadth of knowledge based on a liberal arts core, and creates a depth of knowledge in our chosen majors.

USC Aiken truly provides an experience that transforms lives.

My future is bright because I'm a Pacer.

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