The S.C. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee finalized a budget recommendation that would give an extra $1.2 million to the University of South Carolina Beaufort.
USCB Chancellor Jane Upshaw appeared before a House subcommittee last month urging lawmakers to fix funding inequities among state universities.

The university gets $940 per full-time state-resident student compared to an average of $2,487 at the 10 public teaching-sector universities in South Carolina, according to USC data.

The recommendation also included an additional $250,000 each for both USC Upstate and USC Aiken, according to Upshaw. In all cases, the increases were in recurring state funding for operations, she said.

USCB received an additional $1.1 million in federal funds, for a total recommended budget of $26.85 million.

Upshaw had asked the committee to support a request for $8.3 million in next year's state budget for the USC system to bring spending to the statewide average -- $2.24 million of which would have gone to USCB.

USCB officials have said parents and local residents are being shorted about $2.2 million each year based on a state formula that has not been adjusted to account for enrollment growth.

Upshaw, in a Friday email to USCB supporters, thanked the committee, particularly Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston, chairman of the House's Higher Education Subcommittee.

The budget now moves to the House floor for debate.