South Dakota State University
PA-8: Affordability and Access

The Jackrabbit Challenge is a work/grant program that the university has used for a few years as a way to connect incoming freshman students with positive work experiences on campus, as well as provide them a stipend up front to help them cover their first semester costs. It is awarded to students using both academic credentials and financial need as qualifications. The Presidential Award is for students that have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $700.00 or less based on their FASFA results and are showing a remedial need in Math, English or Reading. The Presidential Award helps students financially with tuition, books, meal plan and housing covered for the first two years. The last two years it doesn’t cover the housing or meal plan since students tend to live off campus. In order to cover the housing, the students need to work the first year in housing/ residential life to help cover the cost and the second year they work as mentors to the new cohort of students in the program. Jump Start is for Native American and/or Pell Grant eligible students from South Dakota. With this program they receive three summers of free credits and then assistance through the school year with a limited lending library for books and a retention advisor to meet with and help them connect to campus resources. SDSU Housing & Residential Life offers a release process from the Regential requirement to live on campus for two years post-high school graduation; one qualifying category for consideration, for an exemption, is demonstrated financial need.

The Presidential Award is for students that have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $700.00 or less based on their FASFA results and are showing a remedial need in Math, English or Reading. The Presidential Award helps students financially with tuition, books, meal plan and housing covered for the first two years. The last two years it doesn’t cover the housing or meal plan since students tend to live off campus. In order to cover the housing, the students need to work the first year in housing/ residential life to help cover the cost and the second year they work as mentors to the new cohort of students in the program. Jump Start is for Native American and/or Pell Grant eligible students from South Dakota. With this program they receive three summers of free credits and then assistance through the school year with a limited lending library for books and a retention advisor to meet with and help them connect to campus resources. Upward Bound works to encourage low-income and first generation students to attend school in higher education. Upward Bound provides the following services: supplemental academic instruction, after school tutoring, cultural enrichment activities, college visits, guidance counseling, ACT preparation, college application and financial aid instruction.

The Jackrabbit Challenge is a work/grant program that the university has used for a few years as a way to connect incoming freshman students with positive work experiences on campus, as well as provide them a stipend up front to help them cover their first semester costs. It is awarded to students using both academic credentials and financial need as qualifications.

The Presidential Award is for students that have an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $700.00 or less based on their FASFA results and are showing a remedial need in Math, English or Reading. The Presidential Award helps students financially with tuition, books, meal plan and housing covered for the first two years. The last two years it doesn’t cover the housing or meal plan since students tend to live off campus. In order to cover the housing, the students need to work the first year in housing/ residential life to help cover the cost and the second year they work as mentors to the new cohort of students in the program. Jump Start is for Native American and/or Pell Grant eligible students from South Dakota. With this program they receive three summers of free credits and then assistance through the school year with a limited lending library for books and a retention advisor to meet with and help them connect to campus resources. SDSU has an Admissions Minority Student Recruiter.

The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program provides one hundred and sixty low income, first generation, and students with disabilities opportunities for academic development, assistance with basic college requirements, and serves to motivate students towards the successful completion of their postsecondary education. The goal of SSS is to increase the college retention and graduation rates of its participants and facilitate the process of creating academically successful students.

The selection of the recipients of the Keith and Frances Weagel Scholarship is based on the following criteria: a. The recipients of this scholarship must be 24 years or older and seeking an undergraduate degree in any major. b. Only students who are enrolled part-time are eligible.

SDSU Housing & Residential Life offers “Family Student Housing” in two apartment complexes (State Court and State Village) at the south edge of campus. http://www.sdstate.edu/reslife/fsh/index.cfm These housing options are designed for students who are married and/or have dependents; these statuses would make living in traditional University Housing for undergraduate students complex. While the majority of the residents of Family Student Housing are often graduate students (rather than “non-traditional” undergraduates), this option does allow undergraduate students on a non-traditional college path to stay on the University campus.

Part I of this credit pertains to FY 15. Part II looks at FY09 as this was the most recent data available for these numbers. The number of students who benefit from the policies and programs include numbers from the Presidential Award, JumpStart, Jackrabbit Challenge, Upward Bound, housing exemption (FY16), married student housing (FY16), Keith and Frances Weagel Scholarship, and TRIO. Numbers for the Admissions Minority Student Recruiter were not obtained. The percent of students who benefited from policies and programs was taken from the number of low income students in 2009 and not the total number of students enrolled at SDSU.