VERMILLION, S.D. (AP) - The University of South Dakota is prioritizing the creation of a scholarship program to make college accessible for hard-working and academically qualified students who otherwise couldn’t afford to attend, the school’s president said.
Efforts earlier this year to set aside $1 million to fund the needs-based Dakota’s Promise scholarships failed in the Legislature.
“Forty-nine other states have already recognized this is a priority and it is time for South Dakota to no longer have the designation of having no needs-based financial aid program,” president Sheila Gestring said in her annual State of the University address on Thursday.
She outlined how the gap between the cost of attending and available aid is growing, the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan reported.
“USD has been losing Pell-eligible students and furthermore, as the gap grows, so does the difficulty of increasing enrollment and providing educational opportunities for all of those who need and deserve it,” she said.
Establishment of the program, in tandem with the South Dakota Board of Regents, could boost enrollment and the state’s economy, she said.
“Unless South Dakota makes a real and impactful change - one like Dakota’s Promise - our South Dakota universities won’t experience dramatic enrollment change nor will we be able to fuel the robust economy in a way that is necessary to support our vibrant business community,” she said.
The university must also prepare for the changing landscape of South Dakota’s high schools that are becoming more diverse and consider how it welcomes and supports that population, she said.
“Over the next 13 years, South Dakota predicts a decline in the proportion of white students from 86% to 74%,” Gestring said. The state has forecast the number of non-white students will increase by 1,400 in that same period, she said.
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Information from: Yankton Press and Dakotan, http://www.yankton.net/
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