By The Iowa Statesman
The legislature in an “early state” will be considering a bill to close one of its public universities, which has come under enormous financial stress in recent years. The closure would be temporary, likely for only one fiscal year.
According to WIS-TV in Columbia, SC, the South Carolina House of Representatives is considering a bill to close South Carolina State Unversity, also in Columbia, for the July 1, 2015, to June 30, 2016, fiscal year as means of allowing the university to get its financial house in order.
During that time, the university would be “rebuilt from scratch” after firing, dismissing, and terminating everyone from the Board of Trustees to regular university employees. Existing debts and loans would be repaid by the State of South Carolina.
Under the plan, students would receive assistance to relocate to other schools in the state if they maintained a 2.5 GPA. It is unclear how the plan would impact athletics. SCSU, which competes in Division I of the NCAA and is a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, offers a full array of sports teams, and NCAA transfer rules can be quite difficult to navigate.
There are five Bulldogs on current NFL rosters, and the school has produced three NFL Hall of Fame inductees.
Follow Us