February 6, 2015
Dear Campus Colleagues and Students,
I am pleased to announce that the proposal for the Bachelor of Science degree in
Industrial Process Engineering has received full approval from the South Carolina
Commission on Higher Education. With this final vote, the program has received
support and approval at every level in the system and state process. The degree will
now go to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
(SACS-COC) for the last step in the approval process, and we expect a fall 2015 start
date for the full program.
Providing a high-quality engineering degree at USC Aiken was one of the highest
priorities identified by all constituent groups who participated in the Forward
Together visioning process. I am very proud of the work of Dr. Jeff Priest and Dr.
Mohammad Hailat in leading our efforts with this new program and asked them to
share their thoughts.
"We are excited to provide current and prospective students the opportunity to get
their engineering degree at USC Aiken. I want to especially thank the following
community partners for helping us develop this degree: Savannah River Nuclear
Solutions, Savannah River National Laboratory, URS, Savannah River Remediation,
Kimberly Clark, BAE Systems, MTU, and Bridgestone." -- Dr. Jeffrey M. Priest,
Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
“We accepted students for the Industrial Process Engineering program and for our
existing pre- engineering program in the fall of 2014. Our existing pre-engineering
program covers the requirements for the first two years of Industrial Process
Engineering. In the fall of 2016, we will start offering the courses needed for the third
year and, in the fall of 2017, we will offer the courses needed for the fourth year. We
expect that our first graduating cohort to be in May 2018.” – Dr. Mohammad Hailat,
Department Chair of Mathematical Sciences
Given the breadth of industry and businesses in our region and the presence of the
Savannah River National Laboratory and the historic Savannah River Site, producing
more graduates in the STEM fields helps us to accomplish our public mission which
encompasses service to our region. This is a positive addition to our curriculum and a
good day for USC Aiken as we advance in our ability to serve the students and meet
the intellectual and employment needs in this region!
Sandra Jordan
Chancellor