The History of Higher Education in
South Carolina
A Timeline
Donnia Turner
1770
College of Charleston established in Charleston, SC
1794
First graduating class, a total of six students, from the College of Charleston
1795
Beaufort College established in Beaufort, SC. with the goal of incorporating
European models to educate the sons of wealthy planters
1801
University of South Carolina Columbia (formerly South Carolina College) was
established in Columbia, SC
1817
An outbreak of yellow fever forced Beaufort College to close its doors
1821
Organization of the South Carolina Baptist Convention in Columbia, SC
1824
Medical University of South Carolina (formerly Medical College of South
Carolina) established in Charleston, SC. Legislation providing no funding for the
school.
1825
First graduating class of five students from the Medical University of South
Carolina
1826
Furman University established named for Richard Furman, who was considered
the most important Baptist leader before the Civil War. Originally established in
Edgefield, the school changed locations several times before settling on its current
location in Greenville, SC.
1830
Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary initially established in Pomaria, SC but
later moved to Columbia, SC.
1837
College of Charleston becomes the first municipal college in the United States
1839
Erskine College, the first four-year denomination college, is established in Due
West, SC.
1842
The South Carolina Legislature passed an act establishing the South Carolina
Military Academy, later to be known as The Citadel-The Military College of
South Carolina in Charleston, SC. Its mission was to educate young men whose
duty was to protect the city of Charleston from the threat of a slave rebellion.
1845
Limestone College, the first women’s college in South Carolina, is established in
Gaffney, SC.
1854
Columbia College (formerly Columbia Female College) was established in
Columbia, SC.
Wofford College opens in Spartanburg, SC
1862
Morrill Act, also known as the Land-Grant College Act of 1862, provides grants
of land to states to finance the establishment of colleges specializing in agriculture
and the mechanic arts. States were given 30,000 acres for every Congressional
seat member
1867
Creation of the US Department of Education
1868
Technical College of the Lowcountry (formerly the Mather School) established in
Beaufort, SC.
1869
Claflin University established in Orangeburg, SC.
1870
Allen University, a private coeducational institution, established in Columbia SC.
1870
Benedict College (formerly Benedict Institute) established with the goal of
educating emancipated African-Americans
1872
Lander University established as Williamston Female College in Williamston,
S.C. The college moved to Greenwood, S.C. and was renamed Lander in honor of
its founder, Samuel Lander.
1880
Presbyterian College (formerly Clinton College) was established in Clinton, SC.
1886
$1,500 appropriation received from the Peabody Education Board to open a
school, Winthrop University, which would train young women to teach in the
public schools. Established in Rock Hill, SC.
1887
Congress passed the Hatch Act, which provided for necessary basic and applied
agricultural research to be conducted by the state colleges of agriculture in
cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
1888
Second Morrill Act further provides for the teaching function of the institutions
and for programs of research and extension.
1889
In his will, Thomas Green Clemson leaves the Fort Hill plantation and a large part
of his personal estate to establish Clemson Agricultural College, later to become
Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
1891
North Greenville University, initially formed as North Greenville High School,
was established in Tigerville, SC.
1894
Established in Rock Hill, SC. by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,
Clinton Junior College (formerly Clinton Institute) is established. Later became
authorized to grant state teacher certificates in 1909.
1896
South Carolina General Assembly passes legislation to establish South Carolina
State University, the state’s sole public land grant institution for educating
African American youth. It was established in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
1897
Voorhees College in Denmark, SC was founded. The school was initially
established as Denmark Industrial School, a high school modeled after the
Tuskegee Institute.
1906
Southern Wesleyan University (initially established as the Wesleyan Methodist
Bible Institute) founded in Central, SC.
1908
Morris College was established in 1908 in Sumter, SC. for the spiritual and
intellectual advancement of African Americans. In addition to college, it provided
schooling on the elementary and high school, both of which later ceased.
Coker College established in Hartsville, S.C. Initially began as Welsh Neck High
School
1911
Spartanburg Methodist College in Spartanburg, SC., was founded as Textile
Industrial Institute. It offered the first work-study cooperative education program
in the country, allowing students to work and take classes on alternating weeks.
Anderson University in Anderson, SC., was granted a charter by the South
Carolina General Assembly. It became one of the first institutions of higher
learning for women in the U.S.
1914
The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 provided funding for, outreach endeavors at the
land-grant universities founded by the Morrill Act of 1862 with the purpose of
expanding the vocational, agricultural, and home demonstration programs
1922
First woman graduates from the College of Charleston
1923
Columbia International University (founded as Columbia Bible School) in
Columbia, SC. Established
1929
Beginning of the Great Depression
1944
The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (GI Bill) was established which
provided many benefits, including educational assistance, to military veterans
1946
Bob Jones University (founded in 1927 in Florida as Bob Jones College)
constructed a new campus in Greenville, SC.
1947
Denmark Technical College established in Denmark, SC.
1954
Coastal Carolina University (founded as Coastal Carolina Junior College) opens
in Conway, SC.
1959
University of South Carolina Lancaster in Lancaster, SC. created by the South
Carolina Legislature to serve Lancaster, Chester, Chesterfield, Kershaw, Fairfield
and York counties.
University of South Carolina Beaufort was created on the original site of Beaufort
College. Two campuses located in Beaufort, SC. and Bluffton, SC.
1961
University of South Carolina Aiken founded in Aiken, SC.
Horry-Georgetown established as Horry-Marion-Georgetown Technical
Education Center in Conway, SC.
Spartanburg Community College founded in Spartanburg, SC
In July, the General Assembly established the South Carolina Advisory
Committee for Technical Training
1962
Tri-County Technical College established in Pendleton, SC.
Greenville Technical College established in Greenville, SC.
Legislation passed which created Sumter Area Technical Education Center, later
named Central Carolina Technical College
1963
Forrest College in Anderson, SC., initially the Carolina School of Commerce.
School relocated, changed name to Forrest Junior College and later Forrest
College
Florence–Darlington Technical College established in Florence, SC.
The Advisory Committee accepted a federal grant of $5.6 million to establish a
new manpower training program called STEP (Special Training for Economic
Progress), which was the first large-scale effort in South Carolina to provide
occupational and literacy skills to the disadvantaged.
1964
York Technical College opened as a Technical Education Center in Rock Hill, SC
Trident Technical College opens in Charleston, SC
Charleston Southern University, formerly Baptist College at Charleston, is
established in Charleston, SC.
1965
University of South Carolina Salkehatchie names after the Salkehatchie River
which runs through all five counties (Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton,
and Hampton) that support the campus, which is located in Walterboro, SC.
University of South Carolina Union is established in Union, SC.
Higher Education Act of 1965, which authorized most federal student financial
aid programs, including the Educational Opportunity Grant Program and the
Guaranteed Student Loan Program, is established
1966
Piedmont Technical College, the eighth technical education center in the states,
opens in Greenwood, SC. Several locations later opened in Abbeville,
McCormick, Edgefield, Saluda, Newberry, and Laurens counties.
1967
University of South Carolina Upstate opens in Spartanburg, SC.
1968
Orangeburg–Calhoun Technical College established in Orangeburg, SC.
1969
Northeastern Technical College (founded as Chesterfield-Marlboro Technical
Education center) opens. Relocated to Cheraw, SC.
Williamsburg Technical College (founded as Williamsburg Regional Manpower
Training Center) is established in Kingstree, SC. For the first time in South
Carolina that technical education, adult education, vocational education for high
school students, continuing education for personal enrichment, and the offices of
the state Job Service and Vocational Rehabilitation were all located in one
centralized area.
1970
Francis Marion University established in Florence, SC.
1971
College of Charleston graduates first African American student
1972
Aiken Technical College (formerly Aiken Technical Education Center) opens in
Aiken, SC.
General Assembly passed legislation to establish the State Board for Technical
and Comprehensive Education. The members were to be appointed by the
Governor.
1973
Sherman College of Chiropractic in Boiling Spring, SC is established
University of South Carolina Sumter located in Sumter, SC joins the USC branch
campus system
Midlands Technical College in Columbia, SC was formed through the merging of
South Carolina Area Trade School–Columbia, Midlands Technical Education
Center (formerly Richland Technical Education Center, and Palmer College.
1975
Cathedral Bible College (formerly Tabernacle Bible Institute) established in
Marion, SC.
1983
The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act ended, and the Job Training
Partnership Act began. This program was designed to meet the skill development
needs of disadvantaged and unemployed persons.
1990
The Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990
established guidelines for grants to postsecondary educational institutions. Was
later amended in 1998.
1992
Tech Prep was implemented statewide
1995
W. L. Bonner College opens in Columbia, SC.
1996
The South Carolina legislature adopted the most comprehensive postsecondary
performance funding system in the nation using nine critical success factors with
37 performance indicators.
In May, South Carolina's Statewide Agreement on Transfer and Articulation was
developed that directed the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education
(SCCHE) to adopt procedures to facilitate the transfer of student credits, a list of
74 courses, from public two- to four-year institutions in the state.
2001
Passage of the South Carolina Education Lottery Act authorized the use of lottery
proceeds to fund SC residents attending two-year colleges beginning in the
academic year of 2002-03.
2003
Charleston School of Law is established in Charleston, SC.
2005
General Assembly passed the Education and Economic Development Act
(EEDA), asking technical colleges to provide seamless transition to postsecondary
education.
2006
The Allied Health Initiative was created to address workforce shortages in the
healthcare industry
2007
The SC Tech College System and the University of South Carolina announced a
statewide Bridge Program, easing the transfer process for technical college
students.
In April, the SC Tech College System began its participation in the Achieving the
Dream: Community Colleges Count initiative, a multi-year effort that aspires to
help more community college students succeed, particularly low-income and
minority students who often face significant barriers to completing their
postsecondary education.
College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 resulted in the largest increase in
federal student aid since the GI Bill
2008
South Carolina, in legislation titled the "Illegal Immigration Reform Act",
prohibited undocumented students from enrolling in its state colleges or
universities
In July, the SC Tech College System launched the Statewide Enterprise Campus
Model co-locating business with educators and students as an essential component
of creating and sustaining South Carolina’s workforce.
2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided an increase in
funding for Pell Grant and Federal Work Study programs.
2010
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Carolinas Campus was founded in
Spartanburg, South Carolina.
2013
Southern Wesleyan University begins offering fully online programs nationwide.
Military Service Occupation, Education, and Credentialing Act enacted
which allows public, post-secondary institutions to award educational credit to an
honorably discharged member of the Armed Forces for a course that is part of his
or her military training or service