Page 13 - 2020 Statistical Abstract

Enrollment

234,209 total students were enrolled in South Carolina institutions of higher education during
the Fall semester of 2019. Of these students, 179,141 were South Carolinians, 44,930 were first-time

undergraduate students, and 17,491 were high school students taking college courses. 15,057

students were reported as first-time transfer students, and 9,865 of these were transfers among
South Carolina institutions.

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education collects general admission and
registration data on all students enrolled in credit bearing courses at South Carolina colleges and

universities. This enrollment data is reported to the CHE at the student level, allowing for student

characteristics to be grouped at the institutional level. For example, Table 1.8 shows differences in
student headcounts at each institution based on student status and Table 1.15 shows student

headcounts at each institution by race/ethnicity and gender.
Many of the tables in this section present enrollment data only for Fall 2019 consistent with the

data collected by the Federal Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Fall

Enrollment survey and the construction methodology for student cohorts to track graduation rates.
The retention and migration tables are examples of how enrollment data in the Commission on Higher

Education Management Information System (CHEMIS) database is used to track student progression
through the South Carolina higher education system.

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