Two new states to be added to South Dakota’s advantage program

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - South Dakota’s Board of Regents voted to add two additional states to the Advantage program offered by the Rushmore State’s six public colleges.

Wisconsin and Illinois students will now be offered in-state tuition rates by next fall thanks to the South Dakota Advantage program. The addition of the two states, according to the South Dakota Board of Regents, is to grow enrollment and lead to more graduates staying in South Dakota after graduation.

In Rapid City, South Dakota Mines said they’re planning to have a recruiter in that area of the Midwest to make it easier to reach out to students in those two states.

“We are actually in the process of looking for a recruiter that lives in Minnesota. So, having somebody there will allow us to have more of a presence in both of those states,” said South Dakota Mines associate vice president for enrollment management Molly Moore, “Just being able to go to more college fairs and have some brand recognition is something that we’ve never done before. That’s part of what’s in the works,”

Up until now, the South Dakota Advantage program has offered in-state tuition rates to students from the surrounding states, including Colorado, but excluding Minnesota because of an agreement made in 1978 that stated Minnesota residents who attend South Dakota’s public universities must pay the higher rate between resident tuition at the school they attend or the weighted student average of resident tuition and fee rates of nine Minnesota universities.

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