PIERRE, S.D. — Enrollment at South Dakota public colleges continued a recent downward trend, officials announced Friday.
In a news release, South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Directory Brian Maher says “enrollments are substantially flat and that is about what we expected.”
The system headcount for the six public universities is down 121 students, for a total of 33,445. The system headcount had a high of 36,662 in 2017.
For full-time equivalent students, based on total credit hours by all students, the number is down 621 students from 2020 at 23,964. The high mark for full-time equivalent students is 26,782 in 2013.
At Black Hills State, the Fall 2021 headcount was 3,539, which was down 69 from 2020. The full time equivalent was 2,228, a 5.43-percent decrease.
The fall 2021 headcount at the South Dakota Mines was down 59 to 2,418. The full time equivalent was also down about one-and-a-half percent to 2,012.
While all schools saw a decrease in their full time equivalent, the head count was up slightly at South Dakota State, Dakota State and the University of South Dakota.
