RAPID CITY, S.D. – Earlier this year, the South Dakota Board of Regents (SDBOR) partnered with EAB, an education company, to study price sensitivity and enrollment patterns to help inform future tuition pricing decisions. EAB analyzed enrollment data for all six SDBOR institutions. Upon reviewing the study, university representatives felt there was an opportunity to adjust special rates and increase the prospective student pipeline.

“We are always looking for opportunities to grow our enrollment and bring more people into South Dakota,” said SDBOR Executive Director Brian Maher. “By increasing our regional reach and offering a competitive tuition rate, we’re optimistic that our state will appeal to those students.

By utilizing the existing South Dakota Advantage rate, SDBOR approved a proposal expanding the resident tuition program to Illinois and Wisconsin at the beginning of the 2023 academic year. These states were specifically identified as potential target markets due to their proximity to South Dakota and the level of demand for higher education. The South Dakota Advantage rate currently applies to Colorado, Iowa, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wyoming students.

Another outcome of the study is to expand the South Dakota Advantage and Child of Alumni rates to qualifying students pursuing graduate programs at SDBOR campuses. Currently, these rates only apply to undergraduate courses. This proposal would offer resident graduate rates to students with those classifications who received an undergraduate degree from an SDBOR institution.

Findings have shown that approximately 30 percent of nonresident students remain in the state after graduation. This educated workforce is critical to our state, filling growing high-tech jobs, meeting the demands in health fields, and keeping entrepreneurs in South Dakota.

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