For Immediate Release 29 June 2000

Regents Hear Plans for New Technology Fellows

BROOKINGS-At its regular business meeting held today on the campus of South Dakota State University, the South Dakota Board of Regents reviewed plans to implement the technology fellows programs at each of the state universities in Fall 2000.

About 193 South Dakotans will find going to a state university much less expensive this year because of a new student technology fellows program starting in Fall 2000. "It's about earning and learning," said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett, IV, Aberdeen. "These students will earn the equivalent of their tuition and mandatory fees while they learn. They will learn in their chosen majors and they will also learn about information technology. In exchange they will provide technical support and services to faculty."

The student technology fellowship program was established with an award from the 2000 Legislature. Shortly after the Legislature approved the FY01 appropriations, the campuses began making the necessary plans to implement the program. The universities reported to the Regents that among in-coming freshmen and returning students interest is running at least 3 applications to one fellowship. Dr. Jerry Jorgenson, Dean of the College of Arts and Science at South Dakota State University, said, "The students coming from South Dakota high schools are bringing skills in Powerpoint and web design." The University of South Dakota Vice President for University Relations said, "Nearly all of the in-coming freshmen applicants are bringing an ACT of 30 or above and a 4.0 high school GPA. The USD faculty are excited about this talent coming on campus."

"This technology fellowship funding will allow the campuses to provide additional support and training to the faculty in an area which is constantly changing. Additionally, this will provide student fellows with real life experiences in utilizing the technology and assisting others to make the technology work for us. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the students who are taking courses from these faculty," said Jewett.

"With the ever-increasing infusion of technology into the delivery of campus curriculum, this program will be warmly welcomed by our faculty. In the summers of 1998, 1999, and 2000, 183 university faculty have been trained in the use of technology in the classroom through the Governor's Awards for Teaching with Technology. The campuses have also used internal reinvestment and other dollars to provide training to large numbers of faculty. As planned, these faculty members, upon their return, mentor other faculty members. As a result the system has a large number of faculty members employing these newly learned skills in the classroom. They want to develop web sites for their classes, add interactive visuals to their lectures, and create simulations and learning modules which allow students to test their knowledge of a subject area on line," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry.

Students serving as technology fellows will receive the cost of all tuition and fees during their participation in the program. In return, throughout the year the students will provide 10 hours per week of support time to faculty and instructional support staff and spend one hour each week in training to improve their skills. Any student participating in the program is required to maintain a minimum grade point average and earn an average of 32 credit hours each year of his or her enrollment.

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