Myrtle Beach-area technical college inflated grades, state probe finds
More than 80 grades at Horry-Georgetown Technical College were inflated without professors’ consent, prompting a state probe that confirmed the Conway-based institution did not follow its standards, The Post and Courier has learned.
The newspaper corroborated 86 grade manipulations through a previously unreleased State Technical College System investigative report, multiple interviews and privately obtained documents.
“I wish I could unsee it, but I can’t,” said Valerie Falbo-Gasque, a Spanish professor who raised concerns with university officials about the grade changes. “This is a terrible injustice.”
Troubled by what she views as a profound breach of academic standards and ethics, Falbo-Gasque contends senior officials at HGTC have not been transparent about the findings and the reputational harm they could bring to the 60-year-old school.
HGTC spokeswoman Nicole Hyman said administrators learned of the grade changes in March 2025 and immediately launched an internal investigation.
“While there was no evidence of fraud, this revealed certain policy and procedure violations,” she wrote in an email. “The college immediately took appropriate actions to strengthen its processes and ensure that such grade changes, without faculty involvement, would not occur again. The March 2025 violations also included personnel matters.”
