News Release
Contacts: Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director
tadp@ris.sdbor.edu
Tracy Mercer, Information Research Analyst
tracym@ris.sdbor.edu

T: 605.773.3455
F: 605.773.5320
www.ris.sdbor.edu

Iowa and Nebraska Students Receive Tuition Break

PIERRE-The South Dakota Board of Regents, at its regular business meeting held in Pierre, gave approval to a policy direction that would further decrease the cost for students in adjacent states to attend regental universities.

In March of 2000, the Regents approved an adjacent state tuition rate to attract students from neighboring states. The adjacent state tuition rate was set at 239% of the resident rate, or a 25% reduction from the non-resident rate. Today the Regents approved a proposal that will further lower tuition for students of adjacent states to 150% of the resident tuition rate.

The new policy affects Iowa and Nebraska students. Currently, Minnesota students are covered by the rates established in the Minnesota Reciprocity agreement and students from North Dakota, Wyoming and Montana attend South Dakota institutions under the Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) program.

The new rate applies only to freshmen and transfers starting in fall of 2001. Students enrolled at one of South Dakota's public higher education institutions prior to Summer 2001 are not eligible for the reduced rate.

"We will be monitoring the yearly enrollment to determine the financial impacts as well as the capacity of the campuses to accept more Iowa and Nebraska students. If the number of first-time freshmen increases over fall 1999 enrollment at any campus, the additional fee revenue will be used to offset the losses to the system tuition fund, up to, but not exceeding, additional campus revenues from the additional students. This will be done to maintain the integrity of the system tuition and fee pool. The effect on new transfer students and revenue will be reviewed each year," said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett.

The reduction is based on two economic premises. The first is that there is still sufficient capacity to take on these students without incurring any additional instructional costs. Second, there is sufficient elasticity or sensitivity to a price change to attract enough students despite the decrease in price to generate more dollars for the system.

It is the Regents' belief that by reducing the tuition for our bordering states we will see a higher enrollment of non-resident students, thereby increasing net revenue to the system. The end result is a greater financial contribution by non-resident students to South Dakota higher education. The system also benefits by having more students to pay the fixed costs of dormitories and food service, diversity of opinion and experience in the classroom, long term fundraising, more taxable sales while the students are in South Dakota, and in some cases, future South Dakota citizens and taxpayers," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry.

The new adjacent state rate would be in effect in fiscal year 2002. Final Board approval will be requested at the March 2001 Board meeting in conjunction with the overall tuition and fee rates for fiscal year 2002.

For more information, contact Dr. Robert T. Tad Perry, Executive Director, or Monte Kramer, Director of Finance and Administration, (605) 773-3455.