Since 2013, Palmetto College has expanded access to higher education across South Carolina by offering affordable, flexible degree pathways to students where they live and work. As a part of the University of South Carolina System, Palmetto College includes four regional campuses—USC Lancaster, USC Salkehatchie, USC Sumter, and USC Union—that serve rural and underserved communities throughout the state. These campuses provide an accessible entry point to a USC education, reaching thousands of students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to pursue a college degree.
In 2013, Palmetto College launched Palmetto College Online, offering fully online bachelor’s degree completion programs in partnership with USC Aiken, USC Beaufort, USC Columbia, and USC Upstate. These programs were designed for students who have already earned at least 30 college credits from an accredited institution and want to complete their degrees without sacrificing family or career responsibilities. What began with seven online programs has since grown to more than 29, reflecting the growing demand for flexible, workforce-aligned degree options. Students enrolled in these programs learn from USC faculty and benefit from the full resources of the USC System—ultimately earning a USC degree that is respected nationwide.
For students with fewer than 30 college credits, Palmetto College also offers fully online associate degree options through its Palmetto College campuses, providing a valuable short-term credential and a pathway to a bachelor’s degree.
Through both on-campus and online offerings, Palmetto College continues to make a powerful impact across the state by increasing educational attainment, supporting economic development, and improving quality of life for South Carolinians.
10 Areas of Growth in the Past 10 Years
Palmetto College has four regional institutions with campus sites throughout South Carolina that offer associate degrees only. These include: USC Lancaster (Lancaster and Indian Land locations), USC Salkehatchie (Allendale and Walterboro locations), USC Sumter, and USC Union (Union and Laurens locations). Associate degrees are also awarded to our service men and women through Fort Jackson and Shaw AFB.
Online associate and bachelor's degree programs are offered through partnerships with the system's four-year institutions - USC Aiken, USC Beaufort, UofSC Columbia, and USC Upstate.
When USC Palmetto College first launched in 2013, seven new online bachelor's degree completion programs were offered by USC Aiken, USC Beaufort, USC Columbia, and USC Upstate. Over the past decade, seventeen new online degree completions programs have been added to our offering, including an online Associate degree in 2021.
The seven degrees offered at Palmetto College's launch in 2013 included: Business Administration - Management, Criminal Justice, Elementary Education, Human Services, Liberal Studies, RN-BSN Nursing, and Organizational Leadership.
New degree programs - including Hospitality Management, Information Management and Systems, Public Health (B.S.), Business Administration - Accounting, Health Informatics, and Special Education - were added in 2016 and 2017.
Then, in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/2021, Palmetto College pushed to offer more online degrees to serve South Carolinians and added seven new online degree programs. These included: Applied Computer Science (Cybersecurity), Communication, Psychology (B.A.), Psychology (B.S.), Sociology, Criminal Justice (Crime Analysis), and the online Associate degree.
Palmetto College's commitment to provide affordable, accessible, and flexible UofSC degrees continues today, as four new degrees - Communication (Public Relations), Emerging Media, English, and Public Health (B.A.) - will be offered in Fall 2022.
Since its launch, overall student headcount across Palmetto College has increased by 34.6%. The jump in student headcount includes: an increase of 22% in headcount enrollment at the Palmetto College Campuses (Lancaster, Salkehatchie, Sumter, and Union) and an increase of 160% in headcount in the Palmetto College Online bachelor’s degree completion programs, with over 1,300 students enrolled.
During the Fall 2021 semester, Palmetto College served over 5,100 students from local communities across the state, an increase of over 20 percent from a decade ago. Thirty-eight percent of these Palmetto College campus students are underrepresented minorities, and 90 percent of those students remain in South Carolina after they graduate. Palmetto College campuses are raising the educational levels of South Carolina's student and communities of deepest need.
Since its inception, 5,943 students have enrolled in one of the now 20 online bachelor's degree completion programs, with more than 55,000 enrollments in the more than 4,000 courses offered to-date.
Since 2013, more than 6,000 students have graduated with degrees from our Palmetto College Campuses or Palmetto College Online programs (3,600+ from PC Campuses; 2,500+ from PC Online programs). We are proud of our graduates, who have seen the reward for their hard work and commitment to pursue their education despite the obstacles they may have been facing.
Read here about our successful graduates, who received a high-quality UofSC education on their time, wherever they were.
Each year, we honor our outstanding student leaders for their achievements in leadership and Academic Excellence. Palmetto College also offers a variety of scholarships. The Palmetto College Scholarship Committee is responsible for selecting recipients. In addition, each campus as well as USC Fort Jackson and Shaw AFB have scholarships available to students.
Since Palmetto College's inception in 2013, $14.5M has been raised in philanthropy; this has supported initiatives on every campus, covering programmatic needs, student scholarships, capital investments, campus beautification, and faculty research.
Support Palmetto College Online students by giving today!
Our Palmetto College faculty and staff make a point to connect with local elementary and middle school students to inspire college attendance. K-12 programs are a priority on each Palmetto College campus, which provide opportunities such as a Summer STEM camp, partnerships through Promise Neighborhood and Call me MiSTER, Leadership Institutes, community venues, libraries and gardens, and educational galleries (Native American Studies Center, Public Archeology at the Topper Site, and the SC Center for Oral Narrative.)
In March 2021, Governor McMaster awarded $6 million of the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GGER) funds to the University of South Carolina, who, in partnership with Benedict College, will establish eight Apple computer labs statewide. Four of which will be located on our four Palmetto College regional campuses. Each site will provide Apple products and educational programming to faculty, staff, students, and the community at no cost to the user. UofSC Palmetto College campuses are all located within 15 miles or less of a broadband desert, according to the South Carolina Broadband Map, providing reliable technology and internet access to these communities.
Lastly, as of 2022, 53 high schools across the state are able to provide courses for dual credit and early college through partnerships with Palmetto College regional campuses. The purpose of the course is to provide an avenue through which highly talented high school student can earn college credit while simultaneously meeting high school graduation requirements, by taking courses in the high school setting taught by an approved USC professor.
Palmetto College Online offers the Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, Bachelor of Arts in Special Education, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing, RN to BSN through partnerships with UofSC Columbia, USC Aiken, and USC Upstate. In addition, each of our regional Palmetto College campuses partners with he comprehensive USC institutions to provide both on-site Nursing and Education bachelor's degree programs.
Dedicated to training high-quality nurses, each regional Palmetto College campus has prioritized the establishment of on-site nursing simulation labs, providing access to the proved experiential methods of the clinical education while allowing students to fulfill their requirements close to home. The labs eliminate students and faculty travel to other parts of the state for education and simulation activities, which places hardship on impoverished students attempting to complete a health care degree. The nursing programs meet an increased demand among local hospitals and health care networks for BSN-trained and RN-certified nurses, keeping more nurses at home in the communities that face health care access concerns. Over 1,000 student have earned their bachelor's degrees in nursing through Palmetto College. The resulting BSN graduates address a nursing shortage across the state, especially in rural, underserved areas.
Established in October 2013, the Board of Visitors of the University of South Carolina Palmetto College is an active group of volunteers from all over the state and southeast who assist the Chancellor and campus deans in a range of activities that help advance the mission and vision of USC Palmetto College.
Board members' activities support and advise relations, government relations and fund raising. Most importantly, board members serve as ambassadors, informing members of their respective communities about happenings at and for the four Palmetto Colleges (USC Lancaster, USC Salkehatchie, USC Sumter), affiliated sites (Fort Jackson, Indian Land, Laurens, Shaw Air Force Base) and bachelor's degree completion programs representing the three universities (USC Aiken, USC Beaufort, USC Upstate) and the Flagship institution (USC Columbia). In turn, board members also keep the USC system administration informed about what they are hearing about USC Palmetto College and the Palmetto College Campuses in their communities.
Palmetto College is committed to attracting, supporting, and promoting outstanding faculty who demonstrate excellence in teaching, research, service, and outreach. Palmetto College continues to award distinguished faculty through the John J. Duffy Excellence in Teaching Award, Chris P. Plyer Excellence in Service Award, and Denise R. Shaw Excellence in Scholarship Award.
For more information regarding Faculty Excellence by campus, see below: