Population growth in Horry County also support the increasing need for educational programs like this. Census data show the population of Horry County in 2021 was 365,579, up 35.3% from the 270,295 who lived here in 2010. For comparison, the US population grew 7.3% and South Carolina's population grew 12% during that period. Horry County is now the 4th most-populated county in South Carolina, behind Greenville, Richland, and Charleston counties, according to the data. Horry County edges out Spartanburg County by about 25,000 people. Age demographics in Horry County also indicate a growing need for healthcare related workers. Aging baby boomers are relocating to Horry County, many as “senior citizens.” The fastest growing age demographic was the 65 and older group, with its population growing at a rate of 104.8% between 2010 and 2021. The second highest growth rate was the 50-64 age demographic.4

Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) provides a wide variety of excellent allied health programs to help train the healthcare workforce. Many of those students need pathways to a bachelor’s degree in related areas so they can further advance their careers. This program offers another alternative for local students to obtain a bachelor’s degree in their field of interest, complementing our existing online completion program in Health Administration. This new program is cognizant of the rapid growth in a variety of healthcare fields that require a bachelor’s degree, such as “Medical and Health Service Managers,” which projects a staggering job growth of 28% from 2021-20231.5 The proposed program should be attractive to students within both CCU and HGTC, and is “nimble” enough to connect with HGTC’s allied health programs.

There are several indicators that this program will be in demand at Coastal Carolina University.

First, the Needs Assessment Survey conducted by Institutional Research in Fall, 2022 indicated that 314 current Coastal students would be highly likely (n = 222) or likely (n = 92) to enroll in the Health Sciences Major if it were available.  The specializations of most interest reported by respondents were: pre-professional medical, physical rehabilitation, other/allied health professions, clinical/laboratory health care, and nursing/pre-nursing.

Second, the Pre-Health Professions Minor has a current enrollment of 86 students, ranking as the fifth largest minor at Coastal Carolina University. It is likely that a percentage of current and future students in that minor will choose Health Sciences as their major. These minors currently major in Public Health, Exercise Science, Biology, and Chemistry.

Third, the documented demand for the Nursing program (see new Nursing proposal) will likely create demand for this program. The current 1 + 2 + 1 nursing completion program at Coastal Carolina University had over 500 applicants for the Fall 2022 admission cycle for an available 16 seats. In addition, the Director of the current Nursing program receives over 100 inquiries per year from students wanting to transfer to Coastal Carolina University or change their major to nursing or a highly related healthcare area. In addition, the Fall 2022 CCU Needs Assessment Survey indicated that 299 current students would likely or highly likely to enroll in the nursing major, if it were available at Coastal. As many of those students will not gain entry into the nursing licensure program, this program provides an alternative route for students interested in similar careers within the healthcare industry.

Fourth, data from students interested in attending Coastal Carolina University indicate a high degree of interest in programs like the one proposed. Data collected from the 2019 “Discovery Day,” (families visiting the university for potential enrollment) indicated that the second most cited response to the question, “What are your/your student’s general academic areas of interest?” was Health Professions (N=712), behind only Biology and Biological Sciences (N= 796). In addition, responses to the question “Are there other majors you’re interested in that weren’t listed?” showed 4 of the top 10 interests were in health-related majors (Nursing, Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Care/Health Science).

Finally, anecdotal data indicate a degree of interest the proposed program. Three CCU student clubs have recently emerged, formed by students interested in the healthcare fields. These include the “Bench to Bedside,” “D.O.C. (Doctors of Coastal),” and “PHPA (Pre-Health Professions)” student clubs. In addition, current faculty in the College’s highly enrolled majors of Public Health and Exercise Science (combined enrollment of 811 students) report student interest in enrolling in a program like the one proposed, if it were it available. The sentiment is that many students are looking for healthcare related curricular options outside of our existing programs.

The Health Sciences program complements successful programs that already exist in the Conway Medical Center College of Health and Human Performance. The program shares coursework with the existing programs of Health Administration, Nursing, and Public Health. As such, students experience a level of portability between these majors. Similar to those majors, the Health Sciences curriculum also requires courses from the College of Science (biology, chemistry, and statistics). Students in the program may also choose to focus their curriculum by completing one of the existing minors within the College, including Exercise Science, Pre-Health Professions, and Public Health. This provides a path for students seeking prerequisites for graduate and professional programs in medical or allied health fields (e.g., Pre-Health Professions minor).

The Health Sciences major will be an important curricular option for students interested in allied health, patient care, or clinical healthcare. A new BSN (licensure) in nursing is currently being proposed as a new program within the College. The Health Science program allows an alternative pathway accommodating students drawn to nursing, but who do not pursue licensure for a variety of reasons.

The Health Science program relates to existing programs outside the college. As part of its curriculum, students may select academic minors in Health Communication and Spanish for Health Professions. Pre-approved courses available for students in the program includes interdisciplinary courses in biology, education, history, and psychology, and sociology.

The current program is unique in that it offers a less specialized curriculum that can be tailored toward a wide variety of health-related areas and pre-professional pathways. The existing College majors of Exercise Science, Nursing (proposed), and Public Health are by design more sequenced and specialized, in alignment with their accrediting bodies. Additionally, it offers another option for science students interested in a health related career, but less interested in the specialized focus of the “full” science major (e.g., biology, chemistry).

There will be some impact on course offerings within the HSCI supporting disciplines. Required Foundation coursework includes classes in biology, chemistry, psychology, and statistics. Since these courses are commonly required in other majors and minors across campus  the impact is perceived to be minimal, likely with a few additional sections being needed. Required Major coursework includes classes in health administration, public health, and nursing. These programs may need to absorb higher enrollments in certain courses and reallocate faculty loads accordingly.

The majority of the program utilizes existing and accessible courses from science, public health, health administration, and nursing. The program’s coursework three NEW required health science courses, and five NEW elective courses (practicum and experiential) to facilitate career pathways in healthcare. The program will need one (1) new faculty member hired in year 1 to offer the required new courses and a rotation of HSCI elective courses, meet increased demand for existing courses, provide student advisement, and facilitate clinical experiences within the program. The program is expected to be revenue-generating in its first year.

It is anticipated that administrative support for the new program can in part be shared with existing administrative support and/or the new BSN in Nursing Program. The program anticipates a need for a new .5 staff position for administrative support.  Advisory support for the program will be re-allocated per university procedures and enrollment demand.

See the above information.