College degree? Not so fast.

By Cindy Landrum  

JANUARY 12, 2010 10:03 a.m. (0)

There’s a difference between perception and reality when it comes to college expectations in South Carolina.

In a recent poll of more than 800 parents of children in public school, 86 percent of parents say they expected their child to obtain a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Ninety-four percent of the parents polled by Winthrop University and South Carolina ETV said their children had that same expectation.

But less than half the students who enter high school in South Carolina actually go to college.

“What this means is that South Carolina is not fulfilling its potential,” said Kenneth Wingate, chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education.

Wingate said a big part of the problem is parents and students assume that the opportunity to attend college automatically means access to college.

“We’ve worked hard to promote higher education for every student,” he said. “But we now need to create a college-going culture in South Carolina.”

The Winthrop survey found the majority of parents had not talked to anyone about financial aid options or asked for help regarding their children’s educational futures.

“There’s clearly a disconnect between expectation and implementation,” Wingate said. “Parents and students alike are assuming if they dream of college, then the information and help they need will come to them.”

When it doesn’t, many students give up and don’t go to college, he said.

The SC CAN GO campaign, which is being paid for through the U.S. Department of Education’s College Access Challenge Grant program, is the first step by the commission to create a state college access network, Wingate said.

A new Web site, www.sccango.org, contains information parents and students will need about financial aid, career options, college choice and planning.

Eventually, the CHE wants to see community-based college access organizations throughout the state.