Coastal Carolina President outlines enrollment growth, new programs and tuition promise

Coastal Carolina University President Michael Benson told the House Education and Public Works subcommittee on an informational day that the university is seeing record demand, expanding academic offerings and pursuing new facilities and research capacity.

Benson said Coastal received a record 24,000 applications for the coming fall, a near 20% increase from last year, and reported the university’s highest recent fall enrollment of 11,389 students. He said first-year retention (fall-to-next-fall) has risen to 77.5% from 67% eight years earlier.

The university, Benson said, is expanding programs to meet local workforce needs, including newly launched nursing, cyber threat intelligence and commercial and investment real estate degrees, and a PGM (Professional Golf Management) program building; he noted Coastal is one of 18 PGA-sanctioned PGM programs and the only one in the state north to it besides NC State and Methodist. Benson also described plans and recent completions on campus: a new Thompson Library, a $20 million indoor practice facility, and a planned Pedway across U.S. 17A (state highway) that received $5 million in state appropriation and matching federal funding to improve student safety.

Benson emphasized the university’s focus on student success and access. “We’re not gonna take the test for you... but we’re gonna put you in a position to be successful,” he said, summarizing Coastal’s emphasis on mentoring, undergraduate research, internships and study abroad. He highlighted student achievement, including the university’s first Truman Scholarship finalist and recent Fulbright cohort strength.

On affordability, Benson announced a board-approved tuition promise: students in the top 10% of their high school class with household incomes of $80,000 or less will pay no tuition through a combination of scholarships and federal Pell grants without loans, he said. He described that policy as board-approved and expected to continue after his departure as president. Benson also said Coastal offers a transfer promise and a “CCU Complete” online re-enrollment program that lets returning students take five courses at $100 each; the program has already produced two graduates.

Benson addressed Coastal’s research status and ambitions. He said Coastal meets the doctorate-count criteria for a higher Carnegie classification and is about $200,000 short of the sponsored-research threshold needed to move into the Carnegie “R2” category. He also described a student-driven small-satellite program in partnership with NASA and noted institutional efforts to grow sponsored research.

Benson thanked the Horry County Higher Education Commission and local penny sales tax mechanism, which he said provide substantial local funding for scholarships, capital and research. He also noted a close partnership with Horry-Georgetown Technical College and said that Tim Hardy, president of the Technical College System, will be an honorary degree recipient and commencement speaker.

Benson concluded by citing several figures of campus growth and priorities — enrollment and application records, new academic programs and facilities, retention gains and a tuition promise aimed at high-achieving South Carolina students with limited household income.

Coastal’s presentation to the committee was informational; no committee votes or policy decisions were taken during the briefing.