Admission Policies
Admission Requirements
Each university may adopt specific admission regulations, consistent with law
and the requirements set by the Board of Regents, as may be required for each
school or program to assure acceptable student preparation and enrollment
levels. A copy of such regulations and any subsequent amendments shall be filed
with the Executive Director and shall be subject to review by the Board of
Regents.
Undergraduate Admissions Requirements
A. Baccalaureate Degree Admissions for High School Graduates
For admission to baccalaureate degree programs, high school graduates must:
• meet the minimum course requirements (listed below) with an average
grade
of C (2.0 on a 4.0 scale);
OR
• demonstrate appropriate competencies in discipline areas where course
requirements have not been met;
AND
• rank in the top 60% of their high school graduating class;
OR
• obtain an ACT composite score of 18 (SAT-I score of 870) or above;
OR
• obtain a high school GPA of at least 2.6 on a 4.0 scale.
1. Minimum Course Requirements
Effective
the fall of 1996, all baccalaureate or general studies students under
twenty-four (24) years of age, including students transferring with fewer
than
twenty-four (24) credit hours, must meet the following minimum high school
course requirements.
a. Four years of English - Courses with major emphasis upon grammar,
composition, or literary analysis—one year of debate
instruction may be
included to meet this requirement.
b. Three years of advanced mathematics - Algebra, geometry,
trigonometry or
other advanced mathematics including accelerated or
honors mathematics
(algebra) provided at the 8th grade level; not included
are arithmetic,
business, consumer or general mathematics or other
similar courses.
c. Three years of laboratory science - Courses in biology, chemistry,
or
physics in which at least one (1) regular laboratory
period is scheduled each
week. Accelerated or honors science (biology, physics or
chemistry)
provided in the 8th grade shall be accepted. Qualifying
physical science or
earth science courses (with lab) shall be decided on a
case by case basis.
d. Three years of social studies - History, economics, sociology,
geography,
government—including U.S. and South Dakota, American
Problems, etc.
e. At the time of admission to a South Dakota Board of Regents university,
it
is expected that students will have basic
keyboarding skills and have had
experience in using
computer word-processing, database and spreadsheet
packages and in using the Internet or other wide area networks. These
expectations may be met by high school course work or
demonstrated by
some other means. Incoming students assessed and found
deficient in this
area may be required to complete specific computer
skills courses.
f. One year of fine arts* effective Fall 2005 for students graduating
from
South Dakota high schools in 2005 – art, theatre or
music (appreciation,
analysis, or performance.) Documented evidence of high
school level
non-credit fine arts activity will be accepted for
students graduating from
high schools in states that do not require completion of
courses in fine arts
for graduation. *One-half year of fine arts remains
effective through
Fall 2004.
2. Alternative Criteria for Minimum Course Requirements
a. Students who do not successfully complete four years of English may
meet minimum course requirements through one of the following:
i. An ACT English subtest score of 18 or above;
ii. An Advanced Placement Language and Composition, or Literature
and Composition score of 3 or above.
b. Students who do not successfully complete three years of advanced
mathematics may meet minimum course requirements through one of
the following:
i. An ACT mathematics subtest score of 20 or above;
ii. An Advanced Placement Calculus AB or Calculus BC score of 3 or above;
c. Students who do not successfully complete three years of laboratory
science
may meet minimum course requirements through one of the following:
i. An ACT science reasoning subtest score of 17 or above;
ii. An Advanced Placement Biology, Chemistry, or Physics B score of 3 or
above.
d. Students who do not successfully complete three years of social studies
may
meet minimum course requirements through one of the following:
i. An ACT social studies/reading subtest score of 17 or above;
ii. An Advanced Placement Microeconomics, Macroeconomics,
Comparative or United States Government and Policies, European or United
States History, or Psychology score of 3 or above.
e. Effective Fall 2005 students graduating from South Dakota high schools
in
2002 who do not successfully complete one year of fine arts may
demonstrate fine arts knowledge or competencies through one of
the following:
i. An Advanced Placement History of Art, Studio Art drawing or general
portfolio or music theory score of 3 or above.
B. Associate Degree Admissions Requirements
A student who seeks admission to an associate degree program may gain
acceptance by meeting any one of the following criteria:
• Baccalaureate admissions requirements
OR
• Ranking in the top 60% of their high school graduating class
OR
• A composite score of 18 or above on the enhanced ACT
OR
• A high school GPA of 2.6 on a 4.0 scale
Individual degree programs may have additional admissions
requirements.
Associate degree students who did not meet the baccalaureate degree admission
requirements and want to enter a baccalaureate degree program must:
• Complete at least 15 credit hours of the system general education
requirement with a 2.0 GPA
AND
• Meet university minimum progression standards.
Exception Group: Each university may admit a group of students to associate
programs, limited in size to 10 percent of the previous year's freshman class,
at
the discretion of the university.
C. Non-High School Graduates, Including Home-Schooled Students
An applicant for baccalaureate or associate admissions who is not a high school
graduate must obtain an ACT composite score of 18; ACT English - 18,
Mathematics - 20, Social Studies/Reading and Science reasoning sub-test scores
of at least 17; and meet any university determined requirements for admission to
baccalaureate programs. Students must be at least 18 years of age, or the high
school class of which the student was a member must have graduated from high
school.
OR
- Complete the General Educational Development (GED) High School
Equivalency Certificate with a total cumulative standard test scores for all
five items totaling 2250 with no standard test score below 410.
D. Non-Traditional Students
Applicants who are at least twenty-four (24) years of age or older and who
have not previously attended college will
be admitted in good standing if they have graduated
from high school or have completed the GED with scores indicated
in C above.
E. Exception Group
Each university may admit a group of students to baccalaureate programs,
limited in size to 3% of the previous year's freshman class, at the discretion
of the
university. Contact Enrollment Services for information on how to apply for
admission under this exception rule.
F. Regents Scholars
Effective Fall 2002 for students who graduated from high school in 2002,
South
Dakota high school graduates completing the high school courses designated
below with no final grade below a "C" and an average grade of
"B" (3.0 on a 4.0
scale) shall be designated as Regents Scholars and shall be eligible to receive
a
Regents Scholar Diploma upon request by a high school administrator to the
Department of Education and Cultural Affairs.
High school graduates designated as Regents Scholars automatically are
admitted to all six public universities.
Designated courses include:
4 units of English
4 units of Algebra or higher mathematics
4 units of science including 3 units of approved laboratory science
3 units of social studies
2 units of a modern or classical language (including American Sign Language)
1 unit of fine arts
1/2 unit of computer science
* One-half unit of fine arts remains effective through Fall 2004.
|
