FMU maintains quality experience for students

FLORENCE — Francis Marion University will likely face additional funding cuts this year, but the college’s president is determined to insure those cuts don’t affect a student’s experience at FMU.

Founded in 1970, Francis Marion is one of South Carolina’s 13 state-supported universities and prides itself on providing a strong liberal arts education.
“We’re personnel-intensive,” FMU Dr. Fred Carter said.

“As the head of a liberal arts institution, I’m obligated to do everything I can to preserve jobs and the quality of instruction, and we’ll continue to prioritize any cuts to avoid instructional or student life issues. Those are critical to the liberal arts experience,” he said. “So we’ll take a look at non-instructional programs and activities and bring down operating budgets where we can.”

So far, FMU has not had to implement any layoffs or furloughs, and Carter said he hopes to avoid such measures in the future.

Francis Marion University enrolls nearly 4,000 students. The university offers a broad range of undergraduate degrees and a select number of graduate programs in serving the needs of communities, businesses and industries of the Pee Dee. Francis Marion is the only state university serving the Pee Dee, and many of its students are the first in their families to go to college.

While 93 percent of its students come from South Carolina, the university enrolls students from 32 states and 34 foreign countries, allowing the FMU community to experience the diversity of people from other cultures. The student-faculty ratio is 16 to 1, and the overall class size is 20. The average age of undergraduates is 22, while the average age of graduate students is 36.

All faculty members have advanced degrees, and 84 percent of the full-time faculty hold doctoral or terminal degrees.

If the House Ways and Means budget passes, Carter said, Francis Marion faces a 21 percent cut in funding, which equates to about $2.8 million. With that cut, the school will have lost a cumulative $9 million in state funding. The cuts in state funding mean a tuition increase probably will be necessary, Carter said.

“In all probability, we will probably have to recommend to the Board of Trustees a moderate tuition increase,” he said. “We certainly don’t want to do it, but with these cuts, there’s a great probability we’ll have to.”

Francis Marion University is fully accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) to award bachelor’s and master’s level degrees. The university is approved by the S.C. State Board of Education and is a member of the American Council on Education and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities. Many of FMU’s individual academic programs have also been accredited by specialized agencies.

Carter said despite the funding cuts, there are many exciting things on the horizon for FMU, including the completion of the new FMU Performing Arts Center and the construction of a new $10 million athletic complex. Both of these projects were made possible by financial support from the private sector and other agencies.

“Projects like these are extremely important because they continue to secure the future of our institution,” Carter said.

Carter said he also is optimistic about the acquisition of funding for nurse practitioner and medical assistant programs.

“Our nursing program is going extremely well. Test scores have consistently been extraordinary. We’ve just had splendid classes of students. We couldn’t be more pleased,” Carter said. “And we want to continue to develop medical professionals and take advantage of all the clinical support we get from the outstanding medical centers we have in this area.”

The school’s international programs also have been a high point for students, and Carter said he hopes to build on those and expand opportunities in the future.
“Hopefully, this is something we will continue to emphasize,” he said. “The true opportunity to travel and experience other cultures may be one of the greatest opportunities a student has during his or her college years.”