REGENTS REPORT

South Dakota Higher Education: Good Investment. Great Future. NO. 62, 01/24/97

Reinvestment Through Efficiencies

Building Partnerships with South Dakota Communities

The Reinvestment Through Efficiencies Plan is in its second year and the university system is moving forward with investments in critical areas to improve service and quality for South Dakota. Reinvestment Through Efficiencies identified seven critical areas for resource direction: (1) to provide the institutions with the technological infrastructure needed for 21^st century education and management, (2) to provide faculty with the resources necessary to redesign courses to meet changing requirements for course delivery through inter-institutional collaboration and technological delivery on- and off-campus, (3) to maintain value of the investment in the system's safety standards and program accessibility regulations, (4) to invest in activities that will extend the contribution of the institutions to South Dakota's economy, (5) to enhance relationships between the state's universities and public schools for the benefit of students, (6) to make investments in changing system practices and/or structures in the conduct of higher education activities, and (7) to provide resources for making selected academic program areas of regional and/or national program quality. The Board recently received reports on two of these areas, enhancing relationships between the public universities and the public school systems and investing in activities to enhance economic development in South Dakota.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The public universities are currently developing new efforts to enhance economic development opportunities for South Dakota business and communities.

South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

• Development of the Executive Graduate Program to provide access to technical graduate education for South Dakota's place-bound industrial managers and technical personnel across the state through distance learning technology.

South Dakota State University

• Development of the Manufacturing Technology Program which trains manufacturing engineering technologists to assist in the development of new manufacturing ventures and to improve existing products and their competitiveness on the market.

• SDSU is also developing a new service model for the Cooperative Extension Service to place expertise in central South Dakota and provide service and consultation in economic development issues.

University of South Dakota

• Assistance to EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) which received matching funds from the Governor's Office of Economic Development to continue research into areas affecting agriculture and medicine, such as livestock diseases, crop hardiness, and heart disease in humans.

LINKAGES WITH THE K-12 COMMUNITY

Black Hills State University

• is planning focused staff development opportunities for math and science teachers.

Dakota State University

• has a coordinator of field experience and K-12 partnerships. Emphasis is on redesigning the field experience for education students, improving the quality of in-service training opportunities for educators, and developing technical assistance programs to improve and promote DSU courses available to high school students through distance learning technology.

Northern State University

• is preparing to provide workshops on integrating technology into teaching and educational leadership through distance education technology. NSU is also developing opportunities for K-12 students, teachers, and administrators to work with faculty and students of NSU through summer camps and other intensive education experiences.

The School of Mines & Technology

• is enhancing outreach efforts such as the Visiting Scientists and Scholars Program which brings faculty to classrooms for presentations

• is developing the Albert Einstein Olympics Internet Program which will link classrooms, businesses, and universities via the World Wide Web to help K-12 students improve their skills in math, English, science, technology, and critical thinking.

South Dakota State University

• is utilizing distance education technology to deliver courses and training opportunities to K-12 faculty, and is improving the opportunities available for high school students to take university courses that can save money and time.

The University of South Dakota

• has developed a Professional Development Center that serves five rural school districts. This project has university faculty working directly with public school teachers in specific disciplines of history, English, reading, foreign languages, math, science, and others. University faculty provide consultation, team teaching, demonstrations, and in-service staff development. Also, faculty assist in technology transfer, curriculum planning, and community/parent involvement at the participating schools.

CONCLUSION

Reinvestment Through Efficiencies is moving forward, focusing university resources on needs for the future of the system, its students, and the state. Look for future updates on the Reinvestment Through Efficiencies Program.