State university enrollment grows by 5% as ‘2025 cliff’ looms

The Coughlin Campanile at South Dakota State University in Brookings. (Courtesy of SDSU)

South Dakota public university enrollment grew by 5%, based on enrollment data from the South Dakota Board of Regents released Wednesday.

It’s the third consecutive year of enrollment growth, after a decline in enrollment between 2018 and 2021. Enrollment system-wide has not recovered its peak of 36,662 from 2017, standing at 36,091 students this fall.

The South Dakota Board of Regents credits this year’s increase to “the value students and families place on the state’s high-quality universities,” as well as South Dakotans’ confidence in higher education.

“Postsecondary attainment continues to be a key driver of career success and personal development,” said Executive Director Nathan Lukkes in a news release from the board.

Enrollment grew at five of the six institutions:

• Black Hills State University enrollment declined by 3.7% to 3,346 students.
• Dakota State University grew by 7.6% to 3,774 students.
• Northern State University grew by 5.3% to 3,708 students.
• South Dakota Mines grew by 3.4% to 2,579 students.
• South Dakota State University grew by 4.9% to 12,065 students.
• University of South Dakota grew by 7.6% to 10,619 students.

New program gives high school students a jump-start toward a teaching degree

The increase in enrollment comes a year before the “2025 cliff,” in which universities across the country expect enrollment challenges largely attributed to a lower birth rate during the Great Recession of 2007-2009. There will be a 10% decline in high school graduates nationally from 2025 to 2037, Lukkes told lawmakers earlier this year.

The Board of Regents and state officials have been working to make South Dakota higher education appealing to in-state and out-of-state students in preparation.

They’ve frozen tuition rates for the past three years. The regental system also launched an automatic acceptance pilot program for South Dakota high school students this year, and expanded in-state tuition to more states in the region.

“The commitment to making higher education accessible by our governor, legislature, universities, and Board of Regents is steadfast,” said Board President Tim Rave in a news release.

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