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• The rising cost of a college education is not a South Dakota phenomenon; college tuition is increasing everywhere.
• In the past 10 years, the average in-state tuition and fees at South Dakota's four-year institutions have risen from $4,449 in 2002-2003 to $6,655 in 2011-2012, an increase of 49.6 percent. The average tuition increase nationally is 40.3 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
• Meanwhile, the inflation rate since 2003 has been 26.2 percent. With tuition costs increasing at almost double the inflation rate, no wonder a college education is becoming less affordable.
• Still, a college degree from a South Dakota university remains a better bargain than in most states. According to CNNMoney.com, the average in-state tuition nationally is $8,665 per year, or about $2,000 higher than in South Dakota.
• It is no less true in South Dakota as in other states that attending a college in your home state is cheaper than going to school in another state and paying out-of-state tuition.
• However, South Dakota is second in the nation with 76 percent of its students graduating from college with student loan debt -- an average of $24,200. Coupled with high interest rates on federal student loans -- that are set by Congress -- students are immediately met with mounting financial stress.
• Full-time enrollment at the state's universities dropped this year by 0.94 percent, only the second time since 1999 that enrollment has fallen. It's too soon to know if university enrollment has peaked, but the steady increase in the cost of a college education eventually will force more high school graduates to look for lower-cost career choices.
• We appreciate the Board of Regents' efforts to hold down student costs while providing access to a quality education, but the trend toward higher college education costs doesn't appear to be slowing down.
• ___
• Capital Journal, Pierre, April 14, 2013
• 'Controlled burn' was uncontrolled, bureaucratic bungling
• South Dakota Sen. John Thune is right: The U.S. Forest Service should take steps now to reimburse landowners for damage to private property caused when the (Continued on page 29)
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