South Dakotas era of public university tuition freezes is likely coming to an end.
Students have benefited from three consecutive tuition freezes supported by the Legislature. The state Board of Regents absorbed some cost increases during that time and years prior to hold the line on tuition and fees, Executive Director Nathan Lukkes told lawmakers Thursday during a Senate Education Committee at the Capitol in Pierre.
The university system is not requesting any increases to its budget this year, acknowledging the states lower-than-anticipated revenue. Gov. Kristi Noem proposed cutting the systems funding by roughly $11 million, including a $2 million operational cut and a $9 million cut to the systems building maintenance fund.
Were hoping not to lose anymore than we have to, Lukkes said.
South Dakota has created a competitive advantage with the most affordable college costs compared to surrounding states, Lukkes said, based on the total cost for an in-state undergraduate degree. The total cost in South Dakota increased 5.2% in the last five years, while costs in neighboring states went up by 11.1% or more.
Thats primarily due to efforts by the Legislature and the system to keep tuition rates flat, including tuition freezes and work to trim redundancies in the system and cut under-attended classes and programs since 2021.
It was tough, Lukkes said, but it was the right thing to do.
Montana has the closest undergraduate costs to South Dakota this year, about $100 more than a South Dakota in-state degree, but an 18% increase since 2021.
Regental spokeswoman Shuree Mortenson said the system will watch how the fiscal year 2026 budget develops over the legislative session to plan and discuss potential tuition and fee increases for the next school year. That discussion will happen during the boards April meeting.
We will continue to be mindful of our current and future students and will do our best to minimize any potential increases, Mortenson said in an emailed statement.
Public university enrollment is increasing, due to efforts to recruit in-state and out-of-state students. As the number of college-age students decreases nationwide because of lower population numbers, Lukkes said, universities will have to be increasingly competitive to attract students within the state and across the country.
Last fall, Lukkes touted the states low tuition rate compared to surrounding states to the Government Operations and Audit Committee. But he told lawmakers at the time that South Dakota falls behind once income-based financial aid programs are factored in. Those programs are more robust in other states.
A 15% increase in funding for South Dakotas Opportunity Scholarship in 2023 and the launch of the Freedom Scholarship in 2022 have helped improve the options for students with lower incomes.
Even though weve gotten a lot better, were way behind the competition, Lukkes said at the time.
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