News Release
Contacts: Jack R. Warner, Executive Director and CEO
jack.warner@sdbor.edu
Janelle Toman, Director of Information & Institutional Research
Janelle.toman@sdbor.edu
Telephone: (605) 773-3455
Fax: (605) 773-5320
www.sdbor.edu
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 10:30 a.m. (CDT), Thursday, October 1, 2009
South Dakota Public University System Posts Record Enrollment
PIERRE, S.D. – For the 12th straight year, South Dakota’s public university system is reporting record-high enrollments. Total student enrollment this fall is up more than 2.5% to 33,779, the South Dakota Board of Regents announced Thursday.
“Our challenge is clear,” said Jack R. Warner, the regents’ executive director and CEO. “We must educate more South Dakotans and graduate more of them with college degrees. Simply put, this is a workforce and economic development issue, and these numbers demonstrate we are moving in the right direction.”
“As the level of education increases, so do wages. That’s why higher education is so vital to South Dakota’s future,” said Regents President Terry Baloun. “In the decade ahead, the state labor department tells us that occupations requiring some type of postsecondary education in South Dakota will grow by nearly 16 percent, generating more than 68,000 job opportunities.”
Total headcount at the six public universities for the Fall 2009 term is 33,779, an increase of 836 students, or 2.54 percent, over a year ago. The number of full-time equivalent students—based on total credit hours generated by all students within the system—increased by nearly 542 students, or 2.17 percent.
South Dakota Public University System: Fall 2009 Enrollments
|
|
Headcount
|
|
Full-time Equivalent
|
|
|
Fall
2008
|
Fall 2009
|
Enrollment Difference
|
Percentage Difference
|
|
Fall
2008
|
Fall
2009
|
Enrollment Difference
|
Percentage Difference
|
|
Institution
|
|
|
BHSU
|
4,011
|
4,076
|
65
|
1.62%
|
|
2,911.6
|
2,974.6
|
63.0
|
2.16%
|
|
DSU
|
2,780
|
2,861
|
81
|
2.91%
|
|
1,556.6
|
1,631.5
|
74.9
|
4.81%
|
|
NSU
|
2,805
|
2,672
|
-133
|
-4.74%
|
|
2,020.8
|
1,923.1
|
-97.7
|
-4.83%
|
|
SDSMT
|
2,061
|
2,177
|
116
|
5.63%
|
|
1,734.3
|
1,845.7
|
111.4
|
6.42%
|
|
SDSU
|
11,995
|
12,376
|
381
|
3.18%
|
|
9,899.8
|
10,197.3
|
297.5
|
3.01%
|
|
USD
|
9,291
|
9,617
|
326
|
3.51%
|
|
6,802.9
|
6,895.8
|
92.9
|
1.37%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
32,943
|
33,779
|
836
|
2.54%
|
|
24,926.0
|
25,468.0
|
542.0
|
2.17%
|
The historical trend of headcount enrollment in South Dakota’s public university system, dating back to 1996, is shown in the following chart:
South Dakota Public University System
Headcount Enrollment 1996-2009
|
Fall Term
|
System
|
% Change
|
|
1996
|
26,508
|
|
|
1997
|
25,719
|
-2.98%
|
|
1998
|
26,560
|
+3.27%
|
|
1999
|
26,616
|
+0.21%
|
|
2000
|
27,134
|
+1.95%
|
|
2001
|
28,446
|
+4.84%
|
|
2002
|
29,533
|
+3.82%
|
|
2003
|
29,716
|
+0.62%
|
|
2004
|
29,844
|
+0.43%
|
|
2005
|
30,720
|
+2.94%
|
|
2006
|
30,901
|
+0.59%
|
|
2007
|
32,148
|
+4.04%
|
|
2008
|
32,943
|
+2.47%
|
|
2009
|
33,779
|
+2.54%
|
-30-