More bad news

[zooropa]

Re: More bad news

My suggestion:

University Center is administered by USD. There is an executive dean there who runs the place. He answers to USD's provost and president. UC has more students and surely teaches as many or more credits than DSU.

So... (sorry DSU fans) why does tiny DSU need a president, VPs, deans, athletic director, etc. Why not let DSU keep its identity, but administer the thing from Brookings, 40 miles away. Put an executive dean on campus and let the VPs and deans in Brookings handle the rest. There are so few students, I doubt they'd even notice. Seriously. DSU is a good school, but it's smaller than several of SDSU's colleges. Time to think creatively to save a few million bucks (and a few dozen employees).

You'd probably have to keep the athletic department separate. Other than that, I think it should be considered.

Either that, or consider consolidating administration of all the ex-Normals, as combined their enrollment is significantly less than SDSU's.

Shoot. Combine the three UCs and the ex-Normals into a single system, and see what you can do in terms of staff reductions...

[joeboo22]

Re: More bad news

My suggestion:

University Center is administered by USD. There is an executive dean there who runs the place. He answers to USD's provost and president. UC has more students and surely teaches as many or more credits than DSU.

So... (sorry DSU fans) why does tiny DSU need a president, VPs, deans, athletic director, etc. Why not let DSU keep its identity, but administer the thing from Brookings, 40 miles away. Put an executive dean on campus and let the VPs and deans in Brookings handle the rest. There are so few students, I doubt they'd even notice. Seriously. DSU is a good school, but it's smaller than several of SDSU's colleges. Time to think creatively to save a few million bucks (and a few dozen employees).

I always thought they should go to essentially a Community College. And then offer a few classes through SDSU, afternoon/night classes once a week, similar to what the University Center in Rapid is to Black Hills State.

That way rather then have 3-4 deans a president and all of that you'd have 1-2 guys in charge and everything else would be ran through SDSU, but you would still have a college.

That was always my pie in the sky idea....

[LakeJack]

Re: More bad news

http://www.argusleader.com/article/2...ten-ag-mission

[LakeJack]

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http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news...cc4c002e0.html

[LakeJack]

Re: More bad news

http://www.argusleader.com/article/2...yssey=nav|head

[Nidaros]

Re: More bad news

http://www.argusleader.com/article/2...yssey=nav|head

I think the Argus is right on the spot with this editoral.

[MikeHenriksen]

Re: More bad news

My suggestion:

University Center is administered by USD. There is an executive dean there who runs the place. He answers to USD's provost and president. UC has more students and surely teaches as many or more credits than DSU.

So... (sorry DSU fans) why does tiny DSU need a president, VPs, deans, athletic director, etc. Why not let DSU keep its identity, but administer the thing from Brookings, 40 miles away. Put an executive dean on campus and let the VPs and deans in Brookings handle the rest. There are so few students, I doubt they'd even notice. Seriously. DSU is a good school, but it's smaller than several of SDSU's colleges. Time to think creatively to save a few million bucks (and a few dozen employees).

Dakota State has an enrollment of 3,101. Not sure that would be considered tiny.

[JimmyJack]

Re: More bad news

Dakota State has an enrollment of 3,101. Not sure that would be considered tiny.

Actually, by any standard of higher education, 3,101 is tiny. But it's not even the number to look at in order to understand the size and scope of a university. Head count tells you exactly nothing.

I post this every year in the enrollment thread. The headcount includes anyone who takes even one credit. It's a totally useless measure of a university's true enrollment. How many credit hours are generated? That's more useful, and FTE reflects that.

The FTE numbers are more enlightening. DSU's FTE is 1,708. Roosevelt High School has more FTEs than that. The University Center FTE is 1,300. So while I had them ranked wrong by size, they're very nearly the same. UC has an executive dean and a couple of academic and student affairs people. The rest of the administrative load at UC is handled by administrators at USD. DSU, meanwhile, has $800,000 worth of central administrators (president, two VPs, three deans) UC has less than 1/3 of that administrative overhead. Meanwhile, SDSU has deans and directors and offices (and even department heads) who could easily oversee those small programs at DSU.

I don't know if it's a great idea, but you have to wonder how much sense it makes to maintain all of that administrative overhead when there is a campus more than 6x bigger (SDSU's FTE is 10,500+) 40 miles away that could handle those administrative services. To give you an idea of what we're dealing with here: SDSU's College of Arts & Sciences generates more than twice as many credit hours as DSU and Northern... combined.

We need to recognize the true scale of things in order to understand what's happening here. South Dakotans hear that 3,100 number and think "wow, that's a lot of students"... except anywhere but here... it's not, and it's not even the number to use to grasp how small DSU really is. In many other places, 1,700 is a medium-sized high school.

[joeboo22]

Re: More bad news

Actually, by any standard of higher education, 3,101 is tiny. But it's not even the number to look at in order to understand the size and scope of a university. Head count tells you exactly nothing.

I post this every year in the enrollment thread. The headcount includes anyone who takes even one credit. It's a totally useless measure of a university's true enrollment. How many credit hours are generated? That's more useful, and FTE reflects that.

The FTE numbers are more enlightening. DSU's FTE is 1,708. Roosevelt High School has more FTEs than that. The University Center FTE is 1,300. So while I had them ranked wrong by size, they're very nearly the same. UC has an executive dean and a couple of academic and student affairs people. The rest of the administrative load at UC is handled by administrators at USD. DSU, meanwhile, has $800,000 worth of central administrators (president, two VPs, three deans) UC has less than 1/3 of that administrative overhead. Meanwhile, SDSU has deans and directors and offices (and even department heads) who could easily oversee those small programs at DSU.

I don't know if it's a great idea, but you have to wonder how much sense it makes to maintain all of that administrative overhead when there is a campus more than 6x bigger (SDSU's FTE is 10,500+) 40 miles away that could handle those administrative services. To give you an idea of what we're dealing with here: SDSU's College of Arts & Sciences generates more than twice as many credit hours as DSU and Northern... combined.

We need to recognize the true scale of things in order to understand what's happening here. South Dakotans hear that 3,100 number and think "wow, that's a lot of students"... except anywhere but here... it's not, and it's not even the number to use to grasp how small DSU really is. In many other places, 1,700 is a medium-sized high school.

This is kinda off topic, but I'm taking classes at BHSU and the RC University Center as well as online classes through USD & SDSU. Does that mean I'm part of all 4's enrollment?

I agree with you that something needs to happen to DSU, and I don't want to close it.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: More bad news

Actually, by any standard of higher education, 3,101 is tiny. But it's not even the number to look at in order to understand the size and scope of a university. Head count tells you exactly nothing.

I post this every year in the enrollment thread. The headcount includes anyone who takes even one credit. It's a totally useless measure of a university's true enrollment. How many credit hours are generated? That's more useful, and FTE reflects that.

The FTE numbers are more enlightening. DSU's FTE is 1,708. Roosevelt High School has more FTEs than that. The University Center FTE is 1,300. So while I had them ranked wrong by size, they're very nearly the same. UC has an executive dean and a couple of academic and student affairs people. The rest of the administrative load at UC is handled by administrators at USD. DSU, meanwhile, has $800,000 worth of central administrators (president, two VPs, three deans) UC has less than 1/3 of that administrative overhead. Meanwhile, SDSU has deans and directors and offices (and even department heads) who could easily oversee those small programs at DSU.

I don't know if it's a great idea, but you have to wonder how much sense it makes to maintain all of that administrative overhead when there is a campus more than 6x bigger (SDSU's FTE is 10,500+) 40 miles away that could handle those administrative services. To give you an idea of what we're dealing with here: SDSU's College of Arts & Sciences generates more than twice as many credit hours as DSU and Northern... combined.

We need to recognize the true scale of things in order to understand what's happening here. South Dakotans hear that 3,100 number and think "wow, that's a lot of students"... except anywhere but here... it's not, and it's not even the number to use to grasp how small DSU really is. In many other places, 1,700 is a medium-sized high school.

Great Post! I wish the debate centered more around some of these points.

[MikeHenriksen]

Re: More bad news

Great info JimmyJack. Thanks for the clarification!

[JimmyJack]

Re: More bad news

This is kinda off topic, but I'm taking classes at BHSU and the RC University Center as well as online classes through USD & SDSU. Does that mean I'm part of all 4's enrollment?

I agree with you that something needs to happen to DSU, and I don't want to close it.

Good question. I don't know the answer.

DSU has some good stuff going. I don't want it to go away. SDSU doesn't have the capacity to bring those kids to Brookings. But maybe there's a way to make things more efficient.

[SDSUAlum08]

Re: More bad news

I think the administration of a good start but I think they should look at a 15-20 yr plan and start cutting those students out of DSU. Eliminate funding to new buildings and increase funding to SDSU/USD for dorms, etc. This is just my opinion.

[leeshajo]

Re: More bad news

Just received this in my inbox....

USD announces budget reductions
VERMILLION, S.D. – The University of South Dakota and the Sanford School of Medicine today announced budget reductions in response to FY2012 state cuts of $4.9 million. Twelve positions will be eliminated along with the previously announced closure of the Watertown, S.D., L.P.N. to R.N. program.

“As in the past two years, we had to make some very difficult decisions again this year,” stated USD President James W. Abbott.

Over the past three years, state general funds appropriated to USD and the Sanford School of Medicine have been cut by $7,348,389. Decreased funding has resulted in elimination of 75 positions, reductions in 14 employment contracts, elimination of the Watertown L.P.N. to R.N. program, closure of the Business Research Bureau, significant reduction in the technology fellows program, elimination of the Computational Science and Statistics Ph.D. program, and a 50 percent reduction in the M.D./Ph.D. program.

Recommendations from university vice presidents, deans and directors were submitted to the University Budget Committee, which deliberated and forwarded a recommendation to Abbott. In accepting the recommendation of the University Budget Committee, Abbott stated, “Not only are we asking our employees to do more with fewer resources, we are asking them to do so without a cost of living increase for three years. Equally important, we are foregoing opportunities to guarantee the success of our future students and the economic development of our state.”

[Nidaros]

Re: More bad news

To close the business research center seems to indicate, SD has no business future at all. Less government is such a good idea.