News from South Dakota Council of Higher Education

As you all know, the governor has recommended no salary increase for state employees for the second consecutive year.

I used to think that Rounds was a supporter of public employees; most of his siblings are government employees and he represented Hughes County, which has the highest percent of government employees in the state, in the Legislature.   So, this is very disappointing news for all of us.

However (and I surprised to hear myself say this), I applaud the efforts by the BOR on behalf of higher education, especially individual Regents who are meeting with their area legislators to advocate on behalf of an improved salary policy.   I am happy to see that individual Regents and the Board as a whole are working hard to improve salary competitiveness.

However, I am concerned that they continue to focus on regional averages and comparisons. I am not convinced they understand that South Dakota continues to ranks dead last in faculty salaries among comprehensive public universities in the fifty states, as we have for the past decade.

I agree with their analysis that we continue to lag behind in our region. Several of our regional colleagues have seen increased salaries in the last few years, including North Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, each of which have allocated more than 3% in increased salaries to their faculty this year.

One Regent told me privately to tell the faculty, that the Board is "frightened and scared" about what may happen to higher education funding at the Legislature this year.

In particular, they are upset the BOR has been required to pay substantial utilities costs and health care insurance premiums for many years. According to Regent Harvey Jewett, the state has under-funded higher education about $25 million in the past decade by not paying for these costs (which, by the way, the Legislature allocates to cover for other state agencies).

During the community forum, for the first time in 11 years as a BOR employee I heard someone from the BOR explicitly recognize the importance and primacy of faculty.   Unprompted, Regent President Terry Baloun said that the most important asset that the BOR system has, the thing valued most by students, is the faculty!

I was glad to hear that nearly every Regent has met with legislators. They report the top issue on the minds of legislators, of course, was the budget. Regents claim they have argued for increased funds for higher ed and they always mentioned salary policy. In particular, former Regent President Harvey Jewett was very concerned about faculty salary policy.

However, they focused on the immediate, direct economic impact of universities to the surrounding communities. Instead, I would emphasize the long-term development of human capital that results from decades of investment in higher education. We see these results of sustained attention to quality higher education in surrounding states like Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska.

The BOR is considering a 5% increase in tuition, which is modest compared to other states. However, it is unfortunate that state policymakers do not perceive the collective benefits that are derived from an educated workforce.

The shift of costs to individual students harms all of us, because those who are less well-off are unable to afford higher education in South Dakota, which ranks last in financial assistance to college students.

Many lower-income talented students are denied higher education, because the state does not provide sufficient financial assistance to those who are in greatest need. This hurts all of us, because that pool represents undeveloped minds that are not available to spur the economic, cultural, and social growth of the state.