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lege education for our students," Johnson said in a prepared statement. • 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 (Continued on page 26)
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