PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) South Dakota is going proactive to encourage more top high school students to stay in the state for their higher education.
The State Board of Regents will be mailing out letters to top high school students, offering them what amounts to guaranteed acceptance at the state's public universities and tech schools. This is not for all students, only for those that have scored well in standardized state tests and the ACT.
"The proactive admissions initiative is good for students and good for South Dakota,” says Regents Vice President for Academic Affairs, Paul Turman, "We are alerting our public high school seniors to the great opportunities available to them, with a goal of encouraging more to attend the exceptional public universities and technical institutes here in our state. This is a way to retain our best students and build a vibrant workforce firmly rooted in South Dakota.”
To be eligible, students must have earned a Level 3 or 4 on their 11th grade Smarter Balanced test in English and math or an ACT composite score of 18. By meeting these criteria, students earn guaranteed general acceptance into South Dakota’s six public universities and four technical institutes.
According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Education, it looks like South Dakota is already doing a pretty good job keeping students in-state. The latest statistics show that South Dakota receives more students from other states than it sends out.