The University of South Carolina was cited by U.S. News & World Report as the number one university in the nation for our first-year experience/University 101 course. 

Read more about the ranking. 

University 101 has been recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators for our efforts to develop and support our peer leaders. Our submission, "University of South Carolina's University 101 Peer Leader Program," received the Gold Award in Excellence in 2018 for the category of "Student Union, Student Activities, Greek Life, Leadership, and related."

University 101 has been recognized by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators for our efforts to develop and support our faculty. We received the Gold Award in Excellence in 2011 for the category of "Administrative, Assessment, Information Technology, Fundraising, Professional Development and related." Our submission, "University of South Carolina's University 101 Program Instructor Development Process," was selected from among the 10 category gold honorees as Grand Silver in the 2011 NASPA Excellence Awards program.

The University of South Carolina was named an Institution of Excellence in the First College Year by the Policy Center on the First Year of College, now the John N. Gardner Institute. The University of South Carolina was among 12 other colleges and universities in the U.S. selected for this honor. These campuses were chosen from a field of 130 nominees through a competitive selection process. A national panel of higher education experts made the final selections based on the following criteria: an intentional, comprehensive approach to first-year student education; continuous improvement driven by meaningful assessments; broad impact on significant numbers of first-year students; strong enduring institutional support and leadership for first-year initiatives; an involvement of a broad range of faculty, student affairs professionals, administrators and others in first-year programs. The University of South Carolina was the only flagship institution selected for the award.