College to offer bachelor’s degree program

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The Spartanburg Methodist College Board of Trustees has unanimously approved a recommendation from faculty to offer the first four-year degree program in the college’s 107-year history. Board members also voted to approve the curriculum for the proposed degree, which is a Bachelor of Arts degree that will offer concentrations in business, religion, English and history; and students will be required to choose two areas of concentration.

Students also will complete 18 hours of professional development training in the form of internships and courses designed to teach workplace skills, according to a news release. Students will continue to earn associate degrees in arts, business, science, fine arts, religion and criminal justice, all of which are designed to prepare students to transfer to bachelor’s degree programs.

The college has offered two-year associate degrees since 1927, when it was still named Textile Industrial Institute. College leaders have periodically considered offering four-year degrees since 1991, said James Fletcher Thompson, chairman of the college’s board of trustees. The growing popularity of dual-enrollment programs, in which high school students can earn enough college credits to receive an associate degree, in addition to other market and demographic trends, convinced current board members that the need was becoming more urgent, he said, in the release.

“There is a lot of love for SMC among the board members, many of whom credit the college with giving them or a family member the chance at an education when other schools wouldn’t,” Thompson said, in the release. “It can be hard to see something you love change, but we have confidence in SMC’s leadership and faculty, and we believe this is the best way forward to fulfill the college’s mission.”