Studies of institutions of higher learning

The commission shall meet regularly and shall have the authority and responsibility for a coordinated, efficient, and responsive higher education system in this State consistent with the missions of each type of institution as stipulated in Section 59-103-15. In meeting this responsibility and in performing its duties and functions, the commission shall coordinate and collaborate at a minimum with the Council of Presidents of State Institutions, the council of board chairs of the various public institutions of higher learning, and the business community. The commission also is charged with examining the State's institutions of higher learning relative to both short and long-range programs and missions which include: (a) the role of state-supported higher education in serving the needs of the State and the roles and participation of the individual institutions in the statewide program; (b) enrollment trends, student costs, business management practices, accounting methods, operating results and needs, and capital fund requirements; (c) the administrative setup and curriculum offerings of the several institutions and of the various departments, schools, institutes, and services within each institution and the respective relationships to the services and offerings of other institutions; (d) areas of state-level coordination and cooperation with the objective of reducing duplication, increasing effectiveness, and achieving economies and eliminating sources of friction and misunderstanding; (e) efforts to promote a clearer understanding and greater unity and good will among all institutions of higher learning, both public and private, in the interest of serving the educational needs of the people of South Carolina on a statewide level.