For Immediate Release 24 January 2000

When compared to national benchmarks, South Dakota public universities:

• Recorded lower average instructional expenditures per student credit hour and per student;
• Achieved a slightly lower average percentage of instructional expenditures dedicated to personnel costs;
• Saw average faculty members teaching more students, more total student credit hours, more undergraduate student credit hours, and more organized class sections; and
• Attained a higher percentage of undergraduate organized class sections taught by regular faculty members, a higher percentage of undergraduate lower division lecture/seminar class sections taught by regular faculty members, and a higher percentage of undergraduate lab sections taught by regular faculty members.

"We Regents have maintained for some time that South Dakota public higher education operates efficiently and effectively. This study confirms that," said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett, IV, of Aberdeen. He added, "These results, combined with the reports of academic performance in the system, prove that our public universities are delivering a substantial return on investment." In October 1999 the Regents reported that approximately ninety percent of sophomores in the Regental system, who took the proficiency exam, achieved expected or greater than expected gains in four subject areas: writing, reading, mathematics, and science reasoning. In addition, a greater percentage of South Dakota university graduates passed national professional licensure exams than the national average.

Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry said, "This national cost study was established in 1992 with a federal grant to the University of Delaware. In 1998, the year these data were collected, 153 universities participated. Each South Dakota university was compared to institutions with similar missions. The purpose of the study is to provide data to establish national benchmarks for instructional costs and productivity comparisons. This study shows that our faculty are more productive than faculty in comparable institutions. It also shows that South Dakota students are being taught by regular faculty members more often than students in other systems. This means that the education provided here in South Dakota is economical and also of high quality. Families should look at their own public universities when considering higher education."