Out-of-State Students Pay In-State Tuition Under New Program

 

Beginning the summer of 2019, new freshmen and new transfer students from North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana and Colorado will pay in-state tuition to attend South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.  SD Mines is a science and engineering research university located in Rapid City, S.D. The university enrolls 2,654 students and continually ranks among the best universities in the country for return on investment and quality education.

The South Dakota Board of Regents approved the adjacent state tuition program, called the South Dakota Advantage.  “Our goal is to grow enrollments, meet South Dakota’s workforce needs, and bring additional financial resources to our universities and the state,” said Regents President Kevin Schieffer. “Our data show 30 percent of non-resident students stay in South Dakota to pursue a career after graduation. This is an important demographic for us to engage.”

“The South Dakota Advantage will make it much more financially viable for talented students from surrounding states to take advantage of the stellar and affordable STEM education offered at Mines,” said SD Mines President Jim Rankin. “We look forward to welcoming these out-of-state students to the beautiful Black Hills and the Mines campus. And we are excited to see how The South Dakota Advantage helps grow SD Mines.”

South Dakota Advantage means SD Mines students could see the largest savings out of all state schools.  A student taking a full course load would see a savings of more than $2,500 per semester.

Currently, South Dakota already has a reciprocity agreement that allows Minnesota students to attend South Dakota state universities and vice versa at a reduced non-resident cost. Due to the existing reciprocity agreement, Minnesota was not specifically included in The South Dakota Advantage program. Mines also already has an instate agreement with Nebraska and Colorado students, but the Colorado agreement is tied to a specific GPA and ACT score. Under The South Dakota Advantage, those requirements will no longer be required to qualify for in-state tuition rates.