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The University of South Carolina - Columbia Student to Faculty Ratio & Faculty Composition

Does University of South Carolina - Columbia have a good student to faculty ratio?

Use the student to faculty ratio, as well as the faculty composition to get an idea of how much attention you'll receive as an individual student at University of South Carolina - Columbia .

Worse Than Average Student to Faculty Ratio

Student to faculty ratio is one of the standard metrics used to gauge the number of teaching resources a school provides for its students. With 17 students for every one instructional faculty member, University of South Carolina - Columbia has more students split among the same faculty when compared to the national average of 15 . This metric might be an indicator that larger class sizes may be the norm, especially in introductory courses.

Instructional Staff at the College

The following table shows all the employees the school considers instructional, and therefore, part of the above student-to-faculty ratio. These include both those employees designated as either "primarily instructional" or as "instructional combined with research/public service". It does not include employees that have been identified by University of South Carolina - Columbia as primarily performing research or public service.

TotalFull TimePart TimePercent Full Time
Total of Instructional Employees2,0751,47659971.1%
Total of Those With Faculty Status2,0751,47659971.1%
Tenured Faculty807803499.5%
On Tenure Track278277199.6%
Not on Tenure Track99039659440.0%
Without Faculty Status----
Graduate Assistants905-905-

Below Average Use of Part-Timers

University of South Carolina - Columbia has more full-time teachers than the average school, with 71.0% of instructors teaching full time.

Below Average Reliance on Part-Time Teachers

At University of South Carolina - Columbia , only 29.0% of the teaching staff are part-time non-faculty or non-tenure track faculty. This use of adjuncts is low, below the national average of 51.4%, which could be indicative of University of South Carolina - Columbia's commitment to building a strong, long-term instructional team.

Colleges often use part-time professors and adjuncts to teach courses, rather than full-time faculty. This hiring practice is primarily a way to save money amid increasingly tight budgets. However, it is a controversial practice with strong views on either side. We encourage you to understand this topic more deeply, and how the colleges you are interested in approach faculty hiring. It's your education and your money on the line. Make sure you know what you are getting for it.

Additional Information

Keep an Eye Out for Grad Assistants Teaching Classes

University of South Carolina - Columbia has 905 instructional graduate assistants that teach or provide teaching-related duties. These responsibilities could range from entirely teaching lower-level courses themselves, to assisting professors by developing teaching materials, preparing or giving exams and grading student work. We suggest you ask the college to what extent graduate assistants are relied on for instruction, so you know what you are paying for.

Additionally, the school has 1,220 non-instructional graduate assistants.

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