REGENTS REPORT
South Dakota Higher Education: Good Investment. Great Future. NO. 50, 08/23/96
SERVICE THROUGH COOPERATION
Higher Education and the
South Dakota/North Dakota Legislative Commission
At a recent meeting of the South Dakota/North Dakota
Legislative Commission in Rapid City, the Executive Director of
the South Dakota Board of Regents, Dr. Robert T. Tad Perry,
joined Dr. Larry Isaak, Chancellor of the North Dakota University
System, to share ways that North and South Dakota public higher
education can cooperate. The Legislative Commission is charged
with investigating areas where North and South Dakota state
governments can work collaboratively for service enhancements and
cost savings. Public higher education can benefit from increased
collaboration between the states. In fact, North and South Dakota
already are involved in activities to share resources and
opportunities and both have been working to identify areas for
further cooperation.
CURRENT INITIATIVES FOR COOPERATION
Last year, staffs from the North Dakota University System and
South Dakota Board of Regents met to learn about new programs in
each other's state and to discuss ways to improve service to both
states. This is to be an ongoing process by which both states can
enhance service to students.
Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education
North and South Dakota also participate in the WICHE (Western
Interstate Commission on Higher Education) programs. WICHE is a
compact of 15 western states that collaborate to share resources
in higher education, and promote and facilitate cost-effective
services across the region.
Both students and states benefit from the WICHE Student
Exchange Program which is constructed to be flexible and
responsive to the needs of each. Students have greater
accessibility to programs out of their home state at an
affordable cost. Through the Western Undergraduate Exchange
(WUE), students can attend a participating state's universities
at 150% of the in-state tuition rate. This arrangement gives
students greater access to higher education and helps states
avoid expensive duplication of programs and facilities.
Current SD/ND Institutional Relationships
There are also numerous individual and institutional relationships that cross the state line. For example, South Dakota State University and the SD Cooperative Extension Service work with North Dakota State University and the ND Cooperative Extension Service on a variety of activities that include economic development efforts; a joint sustainable agriculture project with the NDSU Extension Service; Midwest Plan Service, which has designed over 1,000 buildings for North and South Dakota farms and ranches; and a variety of cooperative research efforts to develop opportunities for beef, swine, sheep, and crop producers.
AREAS FOR FUTURE COOPERATION
North and South Dakota higher education recognize that further
savings and service enhancements can be achieved through greater
cooperation. At the Legislative Commission meeting, North and
South Dakota public higher education officials outlined
additional areas to consider for future cooperation between the
two states.
Cooperative Purchasing
Higher education requires many purchases specific to the
instructional delivery and research functions that universities
carry out, such as classroom technology, laboratory equipment,
and educational computer software Through a cooperative
arrangement to handle purchasing, the North and South Dakota
university systems could combine their purchasing power to supply
the universities' unique needs in a more cost-efficient manner.
Distance Education
Increased accessibility to higher education, as well as cost
savings for the university systems, can be recognized by
utilizing distance education technology to offer courses across
the Dakotas. Investment in distance education technology will
enable North and South Dakota universities to increase the number
of courses offered to students while simultaneously avoiding
expensive course duplication.
Information Systems
Also unique to higher education are the many requirements and
data definitions used for reporting information, such as crimes
on campus, student and personnel profiles, accreditation, and
other areas. Efforts to consolidate information systems for North
and South Dakota public higher education would result in savings
by avoiding duplication of equipment and support personnel.
Research Infrastructure
North and South Dakota universities make substantial, but
limited, investments to conduct valuable research into
agriculture, health, education, government, and other areas that
help to improve opportunities and life in the Dakotas. Enhanced
cooperation between the university systems could result in
greater service to community and students through complementary,
rather than competitive, investments in research infrastructure.
Student Follow-Up
North Dakota has been utilizing a system known as "Find
It" to keep track of former students and South Dakota has
begun to track students from high school, technical institutes,
and universities. These databases help to monitor where students
go for higher education and where they find employment after
receiving a degree. By combining efforts in gathering, storing,
and utilizing this information, more efficient and detailed
reports can be produced that will better enable higher education
officials in both states to plan for students' needs.
Public Service
North and South Dakota's university systems provide countless
outreach services that assist educators, businesses,
manufacturers, governments, and citizens. Cooperation could
provide a greater variety of services available and allow the
various outreach programs to specialize further in order to
provide a more comprehensive and in-depth level of service.
CONCLUSION
North and South Dakota public higher education systems
recognize that there are many ways to increase cooperation and
are continuing to explore cooperation as a means to increase
accessibility and provide better service to citizens.
This document was produced by the South Dakota Board of Regents.
For more information, contact Zachary Ainsworth at (605) 773-3455, or Email: zacha@bor.state.sd.us