School of Mines sees upward trend in enrollment

Fall enrollment at South Dakota’s six public universities remains about the same compared to last year. But a report from the Board of Regents shows an upward trend at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T).

Enrollment increased with a fall headcount around 2,800 students, including both undergraduates and graduates students. The university has grown by 38 percent over the past seven years.

President of SDSM&T, Dr. Heather Wilson, says a unique factor with the school is the personal attention students receive from faculty that comes from small class sizes. "This is a great school and a great value. We have been strategically growing. We will actually stop the growth at about 3,000 undergraduates. The reason is, we don't want to ruin what is great about this school. At the same time we want to have strong programs all the way through from freshman to senior year so that students can get the classes that they need, when they need them. And we just have a fantastic engineering and science school," said Dr. Wilson.

SDSM&T attributes significant growth to the university's doctoral programs, as well as contributions students make to the state and surrounding area.