For Release October 8

Board of Regents Releases Fall 1998 Enrollment Figures

Total Enrollment Up

RAPID CITY—Today at it regular business meeting on the campus of South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, the Board of Regents received Fall 1998 enrollment figures for the six public universities. The Regents were told that total headcount enrollment for the system was up from the Fall 1997 level. In addition, all six campuses showed an increase over the previous year.

Leading the increase was Dakota State University, which showed growth in its headcount from 1,339 in Fall 1997 to 1,831 in Fall 1998, over a 36% increase. "DSU is positioned to take advantage of the demand for computer majors. Clearly students understand that technology is the field offering the greatest employment opportunities now and into the foreseeable future," said Regents President James O. Hansen.

"We are encouraged to see that the enrollment is up," said Regents Executive Director Robert T. Tad Perry. "In the spring some of our universities graduated their largest classes in years. We had expected overall enrollment to be down slightly, so we are pleased to see these numbers."

Perry added, "We are entering a knowledge-based economy. People see that and recognize that if they want good employment opportunities they will prepare themselves to compete in the high tech job market. Certainly the impressive growth at Dakota State is evidence of that. There is more here than just high tech, however. People understand that a bachelor’s degree creates more opportunities and opens more doors. They acquire more than just skills in college. They learn teamwork and develop leadership through other activities. These are valuable characteristics in future employment."

Headcount enrollments by university for Fall 1997 and Fall 1998 are provided below.

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