For Release March 25
Regents to Meet in Madison This Week, Hear Report on Sioux Falls Center
PIERRE-The Board of Regents is meeting in Madison on the campus of Dakota State University March 26-27. On the agenda are measures to enhance inter-institutional collaboration through Discipline Councils, FY98 tuition and fees, the election of new officers for next year, and reports on the Reinvestment Through Efficiencies Program. The Regents will also receive the annual report from the Sioux Falls Center for Public Higher Education (CPHE).
The Sioux Falls Center is in its fourth year of operation and its primary focus is to serve the non-traditional place bound student in the greater Sioux Falls area with public higher education services. The Center is a collaborative effort between South Dakota State University, Dakota State University, and the University of South Dakota. The three universities provide some academic programs at various location throughout the city at the certificate, associates, baccalaureate, and master's level. The Center does not have any faculty or programs of its own but acts as a conduit for the three universities to provide programs to students unable to commute to Brookings, Madison, or Vermillion. The Center was organized to coordinate the university programs that have been offered in Sioux Falls for three decades.
Since its inception in 1992, the Center's headcount enrollment has increased 23.7%. In FY96 over 10,000 credit hours were provided to students. Most of the students are part-time since they hold full-time jobs and have family and community commitments. Some of the Center's students are also enrolled on the host campus in Brookings, Madison, or Vermillion to hasten progress on their degrees. A baccalaureate degree would take between 6 and 10 years to complete by only attending courses in Sioux Falls.
CPHE Director Dr. Judy Nissen said, "Sioux Falls area residents have shown their desire to have access to public higher education and we have a challenge to meet their need. It is unfortunate that the legislature did not recognize the Center's space need as a priority." Regents' President Karl Wegner added that, "The problem has not gone away and the Regents are committed to finding a reasonable, long-term solution to the CPHE facility need and will continue to search for possible ways to meet this system-wide need."
The Regents also received a spending report on reinvested resources through the Reinvestment Through Efficiencies Program. In its first year the program is directing efficiency savings into critical areas at the universities, much of the money is being invested in technology.
Some of the investments are for new computing equipment and software to augment the drafting technology program at Black Hills State University. New laboratory equipment at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology to keep pace with current technologies found in the private sector. South Dakota State University is also upgrading laboratory computer equipment in music, visual arts, journalism, and chemistry labs. At the University of South Dakota investments have been made in upgrading faculty/staff and student computers, as well as professional and technical support staff to install, maintain, and provide continued computer technology support to the university community. Wegner said of the investments, "Our universities are under continual pressure to provide students with current technology to prepare them for the workplace of the 21st century. These investments in technology are but a few and reflect that our university system is committed to providing relevant and current educational experiences for South Dakota students." Over $2.8 million has been earmarked for reinvestment in technology infrastructure this year, roughly $900,000 from other funds will complement these reinvestments in technology.
Tomorrow, the Board will also discuss Discipline Councils, and among other items standard fee rates and definitions. Discipline Councils will provide for system-wide collaboration of different academic programs to maximize resource utilization and minimize duplication. The Regents will adjourn on Thursday, March 27.