Colleges and universities across South Dakota were facing long-range challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic struck.
Enrollment was falling, state financial support was dropping, and rising tuition led to high loan burdens for many students and reduced access for some low-income and minority families.
The pandemic has exacerbated those trends and has put higher education in America and South Dakota at a crossroads â presaging a time when fundamental decisions must be made about how higher education is delivered and consumed, how it is paid for, and who is able to attend.
On the health front, university and college leaders across South Dakota are declaring the fall 2020 semester a victory, as in-person classes were held and relatively few students, faculty or staff became infected with the coronavirus.