Summit discussion will include moratorium on college building

Governor Mark Sanford is holding a summit on higher education Tuesday at Midlands Technical College in West Columbia.

One of the topics to be discussed at the event will be a moratorium on new building projects on public college and university campuses, as a way of keeping tuition down. Tuition at the state’s four-year schools is the highest in the South.

The Budget and Control Board may decide on the moratorium this week.

But some college and university leaders say it’s not new building projects, but a lack of state support that is driving up tuition. They say most construction projects are paid for with private money or county or federal funds.

Among Southern states, only West Virginia funds its colleges less.

The summit begins at 10 a.m. and is expected to last a few hours.