Ruth BrownOpinion Editor

The policy regarding how much money brought in from South Dakota resident and non-resident students will now set a fair representation for the university, as nearly half of SDSU students are non-resident.

Tuition prices for non-South Dakota resident students are currently 150 percent more than in-state resident students, said Wes Tschetter, chief financial officer.

In fiscal year 2008 the formula used to divide tuition was changed and essentially abandoned, Tschetter said.

Before this year, 80 percent of both the resident and non-resident rate came to SDSU and the other 20 percent went to facilities fund. The university was receiving the same percentage for both in-state residents, as they were out-of-state residents, even though out-of-state students pay 150 percent more than in-state students.

“For an example, if resident students pay $10 and non-resident students pay $15, then the university should be getting 80 percent of that, meaning $8 from resident students and $11.20 from non-resident,” Tschetter said. “So that is huge for us (now that SDSU receives different amounts for residents and non-residents).”

The 20 percent that goes to the facilities fund was created 40 years ago, Tschetter said. It is used to pay for new buildings, fixing them and maintenance.

The new policy is an improvement for the university. All tuition goes to paying SDSU faculty members; a small portion of this goes to teaching expenses.

The new policy will allow SDSU to keep the full 80 percent of money gathered from non-resident students. It was implemented by the South Dakota Board of Regents and is system-wide for all six universities in the state. Throughout the six universities

the total percentage of resident students in fall 2009 was 71.4 percent and non-resident was 28.6 percent.

“It has always been a priority of the Board of Regents to recruit more outof-state students because we feel that

we need educated students to attend our institutions and stay in South Dakota as well as work here just as

much as we need in-state,” said Jack Warner, executive director of the BOR.

“Each out-of-state student brings in out-of-state rates and that benefits the universities as well.”

SDSU has the highest percentage of non-resident students of all other universities in the state with almost half of

our students being non-South Dakota residents, including international students. In the fall of 2009 SDSU had 8,344

resident students and 4,032 nonresident students, equaling a total of 12,376 enrolled students, making SDSU the largest university in the state.

“This university would not be what it is without non-resident and international students,” Tschetter said. “Everyone brings value to who we as SDSU are.”

#1.1572965:1355911826.jpg:Jackrabbit Village offers SDSU students trendy, new amenities.:Jackrabbit Village offers SDSU students trendy, new amenities.:PHOTO BY RYAN ROBINSON