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Northern State asks funding for e-learning transition, outlines new nursing program
Summary
Northern State University updated the committee on enrollment gains, the statewide Center for Statewide e-Learning (DDN) delivery model transition and a new bachelor of science in nursing slated to begin in fall 2025 pending accreditation.
Neil Schnor, president of Northern State University (NSU), and Veronica Paulson, vice president for finance and administration, briefed the Joint Appropriations Committee on enrollment gains, capital projects and the status of the statewide e-learning program that supplies live, interactive remote instruction to South Dakota schools.
NSU reported overall enrollment increases relative to fall 2022, a rise in first-time undergraduates and graduate enrollment gains. ‘‘A Northern degree is transformative for them,’’ Schnor said, noting high in-state retention for graduates employed within South Dakota.
The university described the Center for Statewide e-Learning, an interactive live-teacher program used by districts across sparsely populated areas of the state. Paulson told the committee the program is highly interactive and serves many remote districts; in 2023–24, NSU said 88 percent of e-learning students completed their courses and 96 percent of those passed. NSU said the center serves enrollments from more than 120 school districts and that priority registration is based on a sparsity ranking to serve the most remote students first.
Lawmakers asked about the state’s planned transition away from the Digital Dakota Network (DDN). Paulson said NSU has a low-cost alternative based on common conferencing tools and is working with the Department of Education and schools to implement it. The committee discussed capacity limits for e-learning: NSU reported 24 students on a waitlist for 2024 and said hiring additional master teachers would cost roughly $81,000–$82,000 each with a one-time equipment start-up of $12,000–$15,000.
On academic programs, NSU said it will launch a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with an initial cohort planned for fall 2025, pending final approval by the Higher Learning Commission. The university reported private fundraising for start-up operations and endowed scholarships and said it plans to run two cohorts annually. NSU also described a Business and Health Innovation Center on campus and renovation of Gerber Hall funded in part by deferred maintenance allocations.
NSU asked the committee to consider continued support for e-learning capacity, M&R funding and site-specific investments that support campus upgrades and workforce training in the region.
