SDSU enrollment inches to new record
Issue date: 9/27/06 Section: News
SDSU's enrollment rose several hundred students to 11,377 from last fall, rising just 3 percent -- still an all time high for the university.
Enrollment at all six state-owned universities in South Dakota increased only slightly this fall, but it's also an all-time record high.
Board of Regents Executive Director Tad Perry said there are 30,901 students taking classes in the public university system. That's up 181 students from a year ago, or 0.59 percent, he said Wednesday.
Even though the number of high school graduates continues to decline each year in South Dakota, enrollment in the state's public universities has continued to grow for the past five years or so, Perry said.
"This all-time high enrollment for the system, in the face of declining demographic trends, reflects the importance South Dakota places on higher education," Perry said.
University enrollment is increasing because the state is prompting high school students to take courses that better prepare them for college, the state has started scholarship programs, and the Sioux Falls campus that offers courses by a number of universities is attracting more students, Perry said.
In addition, more older students are going to college, and South Dakota's universities are getting more nonresident students because of a recent cut in tuition for students from states that are not close to South Dakota, he said.
South Dakota and other states must continue to increase the number of college graduates to keep pace with the rest of the world, Perry said. More college graduates are needed to help boost the economy and to provide the health care and other services required by South Dakota's aging population, he said.
"We've got to expand that work force if we're going to meet the needs of this state long-term," Perry said.
And more South Dakotans in their 30s, 40s or 50s will return to college to get degrees or upgrade their skills, Perry said. "One thing we do know is there's going to be a continuous effect of retraining ourselves if we're going to sustain ourselves in the work force."
Enrollment at all six state-owned universities in South Dakota increased only slightly this fall, but it's also an all-time record high.
Board of Regents Executive Director Tad Perry said there are 30,901 students taking classes in the public university system. That's up 181 students from a year ago, or 0.59 percent, he said Wednesday.
Even though the number of high school graduates continues to decline each year in South Dakota, enrollment in the state's public universities has continued to grow for the past five years or so, Perry said.
"This all-time high enrollment for the system, in the face of declining demographic trends, reflects the importance South Dakota places on higher education," Perry said.
University enrollment is increasing because the state is prompting high school students to take courses that better prepare them for college, the state has started scholarship programs, and the Sioux Falls campus that offers courses by a number of universities is attracting more students, Perry said.
In addition, more older students are going to college, and South Dakota's universities are getting more nonresident students because of a recent cut in tuition for students from states that are not close to South Dakota, he said.
South Dakota and other states must continue to increase the number of college graduates to keep pace with the rest of the world, Perry said. More college graduates are needed to help boost the economy and to provide the health care and other services required by South Dakota's aging population, he said.
"We've got to expand that work force if we're going to meet the needs of this state long-term," Perry said.
And more South Dakotans in their 30s, 40s or 50s will return to college to get degrees or upgrade their skills, Perry said. "One thing we do know is there's going to be a continuous effect of retraining ourselves if we're going to sustain ourselves in the work force."
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