2010 Education

Goals and Objectives

Finishing Strong

GOAL TWO
By 2010, South Dakota will be first in the nation for the percentage of students going on to college, technical school or advanced training.

Currently, South Dakota ranks 12th in the nation. North Dakota ranks 1st. (Source: Data from National Center for Education Statistics)

OBJECTIVES

Graduate 95 percent of high school students.
Enroll 75 percent of high school students in the "advanced" or "distinguished" high school program.
Increase 21st century skills using advanced technology to enhance learning.

BACKGROUND

South Dakota's college continuation rate currently is 61.9 percent. North Dakota has the highest rate at 73.2 percent. (Source: Data from National Center for Education Statistics)
In 2003, the percent of South Dakota college students enrolled in remedial math or English (or both) was 34.2 percent. (Source: South Dakota Board of Regents)
Beginning with the graduating class of 2010, South Dakota's new graduation requirements take affect. The new requirements:
- Place more emphasis on math and science
- Call for coursework in health or physical education, and economics or personal finance
South Dakota ranks first in the nation for access to technology in schools, according to a 2005 report by Education Week

SUMMARY

The Finishing Strong initiative of 2010E spans the secondary and postsecondary levels. At the high school level, it aims to:

Increase the number of high school students who graduate and go on to college, technical school or advanced training.
Provide students with a rigorous, relevant high school experience that sufficiently prepares them for future learning or training.
Utilize technology to enhance learning.

HIGHLIGHTS

This initiative will make the high school experience more relevant and better prepare students for postsecondary school via:
- Personal learning plans tailored to a student's talents and skills and based on the individual's academic and career goals
- Expanded access to accelerated learning opportunities via advanced placement courses and dual credit courses
- End-of-course exams intended to help teachers gauge student achievement throughout high school
- Senior projects designed to make the last year of high school more engaging and meaningful, as students demonstrate their learning
- More rigorous graduation requirements
Under the 2010E plan, a laptop initiative has the potential to provide students around the state with laptops to use during their high school careers. This initiative is designed to:
- Level the playing field when it comes to access to technology
- Support student achievement
- Promote 21st century skills including critical and creative thinking, problem solving skills, information and communication skills and technology literacy
(NOTE: Please see separate fact sheet on laptop initiative.)
The plan calls for creation of a statewide virtual high school, which would expand course opportunities beyond the boundaries of space and time.
- Students could take online courses 24/7 from anywhere across the state.
- Students could use the virtual high school to access a particular course not available in their district.
- Students could take advantage of accelerated learning courses to help better prepare them for college.

GOAL THREE
By 2010, South Dakota will be first in the nation for the percentage of students going on to college, technical school or advanced training.

OBJECTIVES

Offer transferable general education courses from Board of Regents' institutions at all technical institute sites, and establish up to 250 program-specific transfers for technical institute graduates at regents' institutions.
Expand the number of citizens with postsecondary education and training by 20 percent.
Support postsecondary education programs designed to enhance the state's long-term economy.
Recruit and retain quality faculty and staff.
Double the number of students receiving South Dakota Opportunity Scholarships.

BACKGROUND

8.6 percent of South Dakota's 25 to 64 year olds have an associate degree; the national average is 7.2 percent. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
24.5 percent of South Dakota's 25 to 64 year olds have a bachelor degree; the national average is 26.5 percent. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
6.5 percent of South Dakota's 25 to 64 year olds have a graduate or professional degree; the national average is 9.4 percent. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau)
South Dakota ranks 39th among the states on educational attainment for bachelor or higher degrees. (Source: Milken Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 47th among the states on educational attainment for advanced degrees. (Source: Milken Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 44th among the states in doctoral scientists and engineers as a percentage of the workforce. (Source: Progressive Policy Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 40th among the states in the proportion of employment in professional, education, health, and social service industries. (Source: National Information Center for Higher Education Policymaking and Analysis)
South Dakota ranks 50th among the states in industry investment in research and development as a percentage of Gross State Product. (Source: Progressive Policy Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 49th among the states in academic research and development dollars per capita. (Source: Milken Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 50th among the states in patents awarded per 1,000 workers. (Source: Progressive Policy Institute's New Economy Index)
South Dakota ranks 6th among the states in adopting digital technologies to improve delivery of services to citizens. (Source: Center for Digital Government's Digital States Survey)
Faculty salaries in the Board of Regents' system are 7.72 percent below the regional market for the same rank and discipline. (Source: Regents Information Systems)
77.5 percent of the Board of Regents' system faculty has terminal degrees in their field. (Source: Regents Information Systems)
832 students received the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship in 2004-05, the first year of the scholarship program. (Source: Regents Information Systems)

SUMMARY

The Finishing Strong initiative of 2010E spans the secondary and postsecondary levels. At the postsecondary level, it aims to:

Increase the proportion of South Dakota citizens graduating from college and with graduate degrees.
Provide access to citizens who have already completed postsecondary education to their continuing need to change and upgrade credentials while in the workforce.
Provide South Dakota's working-age population with the kind of education needed to support a growing knowledge-based economy.
Benefit South Dakota's economy by an increase in research and development work, resulting from university research investments, patents and copyrights.
Make South Dakota a national leader in the use of information technology to enhance the state's educational, economic, social, scientific and political development.

HIGHLIGHTS

This initiative will position South Dakota's postsecondary education system to meet the needs of its citizens and a changing economy by:
- Opening up more postsecondary opportunities for students through cooperative transfer agreements between the state's technical institutes and the six public universities.
- Developing degree-completion programs at the associate, bachelor and master degree levels.
- Creating more access to postsecondary education at off-campus locations.
- Delivering more courses and programs by distance.
The 2010E plan aims to keep more students in postsecondary education once they start and see them through to graduation by:
- Offering more orientation-based programs.
- Setting up campus-based learning communities focused on students' majors and career interests.
- Creating scholarship incentives.
- Offering skill enhancement programs.
- Marketing high-need occupations and careers.
The plan increases the role of postsecondary education in stimulating economic activity in South Dakota by:
- Offering new doctoral programs in high-tech fields such as science, medicine, and engineering.
- Graduating more students from doctoral programs by expanding graduate assistantships and increasing the salaries of graduate assistants in selected programs.
- Enhancing libraries, laboratories and equipment, and technology support to meet the needs of graduate-level programs.
A quality education system is dependent on attracting and retaining quality faculty and staff. The 2010E plan ensures a quality postsecondary education system by:
- Investing state resources to help South Dakota be competitive with surrounding state's average salaries for faculty and staff at public universities.
The 2010E plan sets a goal of doubling the number of high school graduates who receive the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship. This objective will be achieved by:
- Implementing new high school graduation requirements that place more emphasis on a college-prep curriculum, especially in math and science.
- Offering more and better information on postsecondary planning to students and their parents.
- Identifying all courses at South Dakota accredited high schools that meet the Opportunity Scholarship criteria.

FUNDING

State funds already have been appropriated to support cooperative transfer agreements between three of the four technical institutes and the public universities. Many of the initiatives under Goal Three will require additional state investment - for which funding streams will need to be identified.