Enrollments up at all 4 South Dakota tech colleges

PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — Enrollments rose 7% this fall at South Dakota’s technical colleges.

That’s according to Jenna Reis, a policy and data analyst for the South Dakota Board of Technical Education.

Enrollments totaled 7,407 at the four colleges.

“We do have some exciting news about fall enrollment,” Reis told state board members during their meeting Thursday at Mitchell Technical College. “Each campus had an enrollment increase this fall.”

MTC saw enrollment climb to 1,237, up 61 students.

Lake Area Technical College at Watertown rose by 133 students to 2,312.

Southeast Technical College at Sioux Falls climbed 181 students to 2,659.

Western Dakota Technical College at Rapid City went up 117 students to 1,199.

Reis said the enrollment numbers included dual-credit students who are in high school but take courses through the technical colleges. Full-time students at the campuses this fall totaled 6,060, the highest since the dual-credit programs were first offered during the 2014 fall semester.

Board president Dana Dykhouse of Sioux Falls noted that some of the dual-credit students have later attended the technical colleges. Lake Area Tech president Tiffany Sanderson said that “almost a quarter” of this year’s enrollment at the Watertown campus were dual-credit students and that three high school students are enrolled full-time at LATC this fall.

Dykhouse praised the four colleges for bringing in more students this fall. “That is a tremendous number,” he said. “That is not the trend nationwide. You are bucking that trend.”

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