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News Release |
| For Immediate Release: Thursday, December 12, 2002 New Degree Options
Offered in Sioux Falls
RAPID CITY – Expanding options for public higher education in the Sioux Falls area, the South Dakota Board of Regents has approved the offering of graduate degrees in education and science at USDSU. The Regents also agreed to offer the Bachelor of Applied Technical Science degree in Sioux Falls, and began the process of planning for a new Executive Master of Business Administration degree that would be delivered through USDSU. A partnership between the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University, and Dakota State University, USDSU is located on the campus of Southeast Technical Institute in Sioux Falls. “The explosive growth of USDSU in Sioux Falls has demonstrated the interest in and need for quality public higher education programs and courses in that area,” Regents’ President Harvey C. Jewett said. “With USDSU’s focus on the adult and working student, as well as on degree programs important to the economic development of the region, these new degree options should be very popular.” The
Board of Regents took the following actions Thursday: Doctor of Education in Educational AdministrationThe
Regents authorized the University of South Dakota to offer its Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
degree in Educational Administration in Sioux Falls, which will be designed for delivery
in a non-traditional, executive-style format. The program will be delivered in
collaboration with South Dakota State University, and is expected to initially enroll
about 21 students at the new site. “Utilizing
the executive format, this doctoral program will include courses offered in weekend and
block schedules, as well as through online, Internet-enhanced delivery,” said Robert
T. Tad Perry, the Regents’ executive director. “This kind of format is more
accommodating to the schedules of working professionals. It will also give educators and
people from related fields in the Sioux Falls area the opportunity to obtain an advanced
degree.” The
degree will be offered with specializations in either K-12 education or adult and higher
education. Master of Natural ScienceUSD
also received permission to offer its Master of Natural Science degree through USDSU
beginning next summer. “There is a great demand for graduate-level education in
science and mathematics, and this degree should be particularly attractive to secondary and middle school teachers who seek a content-based graduate program,” Perry said.
The degree will be a collaborative effort with South Dakota State University, which also offers a master’s degree in education at the Sioux Falls site.
Bachelor of Applied Technical ScienceSouth Dakota State University is now authorized to offer its Bachelor of Applied Technical Science (BATS) degree in Sioux Falls. This program enables students who have an associate degree from one of the state’s four technical institutes to pursue a bachelor’s degree and build upon their knowledge and skills. “Many technical school graduates are employed in Sioux Falls,” Perry noted. “Right now, Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls has 1,677 students pursuing an associate degree and many of them would be potential candidates for this BATS degree.” Other degree candidates would be individuals who have already graduated from a technical school program, but are looking for additional skills to function more effectively in business, industries, and organizations. Executive Master of Business AdministrationA Regents’ committee Thursday gave the University of South Dakota the go-ahead to develop plans for an Executive MBA program in Sioux Falls that would graduate students in about 20 months’ time. Primarily designed for executives and managers of small and mid-sized companies, an executive program enables managers to complete a graduate business program while remaining at their jobs. Perry
said the first cohort of students is expected to be between the ages of 25-50, within a
driving radius of five to six hours from Sioux Falls. Plans call for the first students in
the program to begin classes next September. -30- |
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