For Release December 10, 1998
SD Board of Regents Reviews Long-Term Facility Needs of Universities
ABERDEEN—The South Dakota Board of Regents today, at its regular business meeting on the campus of Northern State University, reviewed the list of capital improvement projects on the university campuses for the next 10 years. Most of these projects involve renovation, repair, or modification to existing structures, although some new buildings are projected for construction during that time.
"Several of our campuses possess structures that are more than 100 years old. All of our campuses are aging. We need to preserve buildings and make them suitable for contemporary student needs. In order to do that we must pay more attention to our maintenance and repair needs," said Regents President James O. Hansen. "Buildings need to be adapted to meet changing instructional delivery techniques that rely more and more on technology." As a result of this review, the Regents approved a four percent increase in the annual maintenance and repair allocation from the Higher Education Facilities Fund (HEFF).
Money for these projects comes from HEFF, a fund into which the Regents deposit annually 20 percent of the tuition that students pay. The money in the fund is used for construction of new academic buildings as well as to maintain and repair existing academic buildings. All of the campuses contribute to the fund. Each campus gets money for maintenance and repair every year. "Limited resources require us to establish priorities, however," said Hansen. "The Regents distribute the funds among the campuses based on academic needs and the urgency of the projects."
"The Regents have asked the university presidents to set priorities according to guidelines they have adopted," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry. "Projects that involve classroom buildings and general maintenance and repair projects should be given a higher priority than new construction. The Regents believe in protecting the investments already made."
The Regents have received requests from the universities for over $124 million in projects through 2010. It is estimated that the funds projected to be available from HEFF will cover about 30 percent of those costs. In addition to increasing the maintenance and repair allocation, the Regents in the future will require that the universities show that they can fund a significant portion of a project with funds from external sources.
For more information contact: Kathy Johnson, Board of Regents, (605) 773-3455.