Regents want to consolidate courses in Rapid City
Posted: Saturday, September 22, 2007
RAPID CITY (AP) -- A consolidated higher education center for Rapid City is "on the radar screen" for the South Dakota Board of Regents, according to Tad Perry, the executive director of the board.
The West River Higher Education Center that operates in Rapid City offers degrees and coursework from Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, Dakota State University and Northern State University.
The center serves about 1,600 students a year and operates out of four locations.
Perry said the multiple locations are not as efficient or as convenient for students and faculty as they would be at one centralized location.
"The ideal long-term plan would be to find a home for all the regental programs, so we can have a single location, like we have in Pierre and Sioux Falls," Perry said. "We'd like a facility where students could do everything they need in one spot and not have to move around the city to put their programs together. That's the best of all worlds."
The state broke ground last month in Sioux Falls for a $20 million higher education complex to consolidate educational services and provide space for future growth,
In Pierre, the 25-year-old Capital University Center is planning a $3.3 million facility that is expected to open by the fall of 2008.
Like the Sioux Falls and Pierre centers, the higher education center in Rapid City serves mostly nontraditional students.
Sandee Schamber, the BHSU operations director in Rapid City, said many of the students can't move closer to a university campus and can't get away during the day because they have full-time jobs.
"I've taught those evening classes. I'm not sure how some of them stay awake," she said. "The people here are focused. They know what they want and go after it. And they bring a lot of life experiences to class, which benefits other students."
A regents committee is exploring options for a Rapid City center and is expected to report back to the full Board of Regents by the end of the year or early in 2008, Perry said.
The West River Higher Education Center that operates in Rapid City offers degrees and coursework from Black Hills State University, South Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota, Dakota State University and Northern State University.
The center serves about 1,600 students a year and operates out of four locations.
Perry said the multiple locations are not as efficient or as convenient for students and faculty as they would be at one centralized location.
"The ideal long-term plan would be to find a home for all the regental programs, so we can have a single location, like we have in Pierre and Sioux Falls," Perry said. "We'd like a facility where students could do everything they need in one spot and not have to move around the city to put their programs together. That's the best of all worlds."
The state broke ground last month in Sioux Falls for a $20 million higher education complex to consolidate educational services and provide space for future growth,
In Pierre, the 25-year-old Capital University Center is planning a $3.3 million facility that is expected to open by the fall of 2008.
Like the Sioux Falls and Pierre centers, the higher education center in Rapid City serves mostly nontraditional students.
Sandee Schamber, the BHSU operations director in Rapid City, said many of the students can't move closer to a university campus and can't get away during the day because they have full-time jobs.
"I've taught those evening classes. I'm not sure how some of them stay awake," she said. "The people here are focused. They know what they want and go after it. And they bring a lot of life experiences to class, which benefits other students."
A regents committee is exploring options for a Rapid City center and is expected to report back to the full Board of Regents by the end of the year or early in 2008, Perry said.
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