This September, 4,439 South Dakota high school seniors (approximately 55 percent of the state’s senior population) received letters from Secretary of Education Dr. Melody Schopp, announcing their general acceptance into all six of South Dakota’s public colleges and universities. These students were granted early acceptance based on scoring a three or a four on the Smarter Balanced Assessment in English language arts and mathematics in 11th grade, or scoring an ACT composite score of 18 or higher.

We have a lot of kids who would be first-generation college-going. So we’re opening up the door to say, ‘You can do this based on the test.’ I’m hoping it will allow parents and kids to say, ‘Oh, wow, I didn’t realize my kids or I could do this.’

In 2015, the state’s Board of Regents publicly committed to initiatives that would increase the number of students under 35 years old who attend college. Following a study released by Georgetown University in 2015 — which stated that by 2025, two-thirds of all jobs in South Dakota will need a postsecondary degree or certification — the regents set a goal to have 65 percent of the population under 35 years of age receive a postsecondary education. As of 2014, approximately 37 percent of the state’s working- age population had an associate’s degree or higher, according to the American Community Survey.

Read the full article on increasing first-generation college attendance by Ethan Stoetzer at InsideSources