Students have been taking the Greenville Tech to USC Upstate route to a bachelor's degree for many years as Daniel Dreisbach did in the early eighties (see sidebar). Recently, however, the distance between the two Upstate neighbors has been shortened thanks to a new agreement called Upstate Direct Connect that is designed to bring this area closer to a match on job requirements and education by producing more college graduates.
A Shining Example
Rhodes Scholars come from places like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, right? Not always. In 1981, a young man from Greenville made what he describes today as an audacious move. The graduate of Greenville Tech and what was then USC Spartanburg sat down with a book of scholarship programs and picked out the Rhodes opportunity. Against the odds, he won what many people consider to be the top academic honor in the world.
Daniel Dreisbach had carried more than a full load at Greenville Tech and USCS while working full-time as a hospital orderly. Working all night, studying before his shift and after, and slipping in a few hours of sleep where he could, Dreisbach knew that the opportunities for learning that take place outside the college classroom were escaping him. So when it came to graduate school, he decided to try for a scholarship opportunity that would allow him to study abroad. And so he became one of only 37 Rhodes winners ever to come from a South Carolina college or university and the only one from this state to be a graduate of a technical college.
Dreisbach made the most of the opportunity, drinking in the chance to read broadly, to experience a range of ideas, and to spend time in what he describes as the magical atmosphere that is Oxford. His Greenville Tech and USCS diplomas were soon joined by a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Oxford and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia. Today, Dr. Daniel Dreisbach is a professor of justice, law and society at American University and is considered one of the nation's leading constitutional scholars.
Dreisbach didn't begin with a grand plan, but he certainly ended up completing one. When he enrolled at Greenville Tech, all he knew was that he wanted to pursue a college education. What he received, he says, is a very strong, two-year liberal arts education that prepared him well for the next step.
Dreisbach's experience is proof that many times the only limits we have are the ones that are self-imposed. He could have decided that he didn't have time to start college, that he didn't have the means to keep going, or that a scholarship some people associate with the Ivy League was out of his league. If he hadn't taken advantage of what was in front of him, he wouldn't be where he is today. "I didn't have a big master plan to get from point A to point B," Dreisbach says. "I knew I wanted an education, and I took advantage of what was available to me. Greenville Tech was a wonderful opportunity that was available to me as a young man living in South Carolina."
Upstate Direct Connect guarantees admission to USC Upstate for any student who graduates from Greenville Tech with an Associate in Arts, Associate in Sciences or select Associate of Applied Science degree. The premise is simple: complete the degree at Greenville Tech, and you have a worry-free transition to USC Upstate to earn a bachelor's degree. Along the way, the two colleges work together to make the path as smooth as possible.
The partnership is expected to give more people in the Upstate the tools they need to get a good job and to keep it even in tough economic times. "The percentage of adults over age 25 in the Upstate who have a bachelor's degree ranges from 20 to 25 percent while the national average is at 29.4 percent," says Dr. John Stockwell, chancellor of University of South Carolina Upstate. "Our ability to compete in the economic development arena hinges on improving our numbers."
Upstate Direct Connect is meeting the needs of 18-year-old Austin Ohly, who wanted to stay in Greenville and earn a bachelor's degree in chemistry from USC Upstate. He learned about the program through his Greenville Tech advisor, and has found support from both institutions as he begins his education at Greenville Tech with plans to move on to USC Upstate, taking the credits he has earned with him.
Ohly and others enrolled in the program will enjoy guaranteed priority registration when they transfer, on-site advising from both Greenville Tech and USC Upstate advisors, and access to the USC Upstate library, sporting events, student activities, guest speakers, and cultural productions.
The goal is to ensure that Ohly and his classmates will be well prepared for the job market. "Eighty percent of today's jobs require some type of postsecondary education, yet there are 128,000 people in Greenville County alone without any postsecondary education," says Dr. Keith Miller, president of Greenville Tech. "This agreement is important because it will help align educational attainment with job requirements. It's essential that we equip people with the skills and education needed for emerging industries."