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Dean Barry Dunn, College of Ag and Bio Sciences

SDSU Ag-Bio Communications, along with its nine employees, has been cut due to the nearly $4.7 million in cuts to SDSU.

“… part of the staff will be gone at the end of the fiscal year in June, while others will continue until October,” said Lowell Haag, director and production manager for Ag-Bio Communications.

Hagg said all Ag-Bio Communications employees received a letter saying they were laid off or that their contract would not be renewed.

Dean of the College of Agriculture and Biological Science Barry Dunn declined to comment on this matter until Thursday.

Ag-Bio Communications is responsible for packaging information to be dispersed throughout South Dakota.

“The majority of the work we do at Ag-Bio communications is packaging the educational information gathered by researchers and the experiment station… and write it up in such a way that everyday people in South Dakota can understand it without big research language,” Haag said. “We [the employees] are the people who then do the packaging work, whether it’s an extension publication or flyers or television program.”

Lyle Olson, a journalism and mass communications professor, said he was surprised to see Ag-Bio Communications cut.

“[I’m] kind of surprised because one of SDSU’s core reasons for being a land grant university is to provide extension information to the state, and that’s what they did,” Olson said.

“The ag communications unit will be going away as part of budget cuts,” said Lowell Haag, director and production manager for Ag-Bio Communications.  “… part of the staff will be gone at the end of the fiscal year in June, while others will continue until October. All of us [Ag and Bio Communications employees] have received a letter saying your contract is not being renewed or a reduction in force…”

Ag-Bio Communications is responsible for packaging information to be dispersed throughout South Dakota.

“The majority of the work we do at Ag-Bio communications is packaging the educational information gathered by researchers and the experiment station… and write it up in such a way that everyday people in South Dakota can understand it without big research language,” Haag said.  “We [the employees] are the people who then do the packaging work, whether it’s an extension publication or flyers or television program.”

Lyle Olson, journalism and mass communications professor, said he was surprised to see Ag-Bio communications cut.

“[I’m] kind of surprised because one of SDSU’s core reasons for being a land grant university is to provide extension information to the state and that’s what they did,” Olson said.

Stay with The Collegian for more updates.

The South Dakota Board of Regents approved a 6.9 percent rise in tuition and fees March 31, which means students at SDSU will have to pay an extra $472 for the 2011-2012 school year.

“We operate at a time when resources are scarce, yet we have a compelling need to educate and graduate more people,” said Jack Warner, executive director of the BOR during last week’s meeting.  “Educational quality is paramount for us while maintaining quality and affordability for our students.”

The Legislature approved and Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the fiscal year 2012 general appropriations bill, which called for a 10 percent cut in state spending and resulted in the BOR’s budget being cut by about $17 million.  SDSU’s budget was cut by about $4.7 million, and even with the 6.9 percent increase in tuition and fees, will still have about $1.8 million in cuts to make up.

Bob Otterson, executive assistant to the president, said that SDSU will have to make up more than just the $1.8 million.

“[The] $1.8 million projected shortfall … does not account for unavoidable costs … such as an increase in employers share of health insurance premiums for employees or unforeseen increase in utility rates,” Otterson said. “It also does not take into consideration the shortfall for the Ag. Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Program. The impact at the university as a whole goes beyond the shortfall projected by the regents office.”

During the BOR meeting, Regent Patrick Weber said it’s up to the students and the institutions to make up for the loss in funds.

If we’re going to ask students to make personal cuts to pay for education, it’s fair for institutions to meet them in that goal,” Weber said.  “These students deserve to see that their personal sacrifice is met by an institutional sacrifice.  We’re asking them to come to the table and help … but at the same time they’re not carrying the whole burden.”

Gary Aguiar, president of the South Dakota chapter of the Council of Higher Education, said it’s disappointing to see the 6.9 percent increase.

“If we expect to continue to be the economic leader, then we’ve got to invest in human capital,” Aguiar said.  “If only the rich can afford to go to college, then we aren’t providing those opportunities for the next genius who may not come from a rich family.”

Greg Butz, a senior political science major, thinks the rise in tuition and fees will hit some students hard.

“I think that the people who already have the means to pay for school will continue to pay it and the only people it will discourage will be the people who have the least economic means to pay for college”, Butz said.

Otterson said it has not been determined exactly how SDSU plans to make up the $1.8 million that tuition and fees can’t cover.  He said a university-wide town hall meeting will be held on April 20. The university can expect most of the decisions made in response to the cuts to be in place by then.

News Editor

Student loans are simply that: loans, and they must be paid back. With costs increasing and state support declining, many students unknowingly fall further and further into the red.

“I graduated with a little over $20,000 in student loans,” said Zach Anderson, SDSU alum and news editor at the Starbuck Times in Starbuck, Minn. “I didn’t get any financial aid and had one scholarship that was about $500 a semester, but other than that I had all loans.”

Jay Larsen, director of financial aid at SDSU, said as costs increase, financial aid becomes even more significant to students.

“Student financial aid is very important for students and families and their choice to attend higher education,” Larsen said. “Financial aid helps students attend college, and stay in college, because it provides the resources or money to pay for school.”

Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2012 could make financial aid even more important for students.  Daugaard’s budget proposed a 10 percent cut in state spending, which could equal about $4.7 million in cuts to SDSU and a rise in tuition of 6 to 8 percent.

Anderson said student loans were important while he was in school.

“I didn’t have a job or anything, so I probably wouldn’t have even been able to go to college without loans,” Anderson said.  “I’m sure there are a lot of kids that wouldn’t be able to go if they didn’t have that financial aid available.”

Tia Krier, a sophomore pharmacy major, worries about the amount of money she has to borrow for school.

“It’s really scary to see how much money I’m racking up with student fees,” she said.  “Going into the pharmacy program and looking at what I’ll have to pay in the future is overwhelming.”

According to the South Dakota Board of Regents 2011 Factbook, in 2010, 88 percent of SDSU students received some form of financial aid, with the average amount being almost $10,000.

About $28.5 million in non-obligation financial aid was given to SDSU students in 2010, according to the Factbook. Larsen described non-obligation aid as awards given based on merit or financial need. It is aid students don’t have to work for or pay back. Non-obligation financial aid includes grants, the Opportunity Scholarship and institutional scholarships.

“Scholarship opportunities provide financial assistance but also recognition of a students achievements and career interests,” Larsen said. “Scholarships are available only through the generosity of donors.”

According to the Factbook, nearly $77 million was given to SDSU students in obligation aid in 2010. Obligation aid means it must be paid back. Larsen said students can pay these back by federal and alternative loans or funds collected through work study and non-work study employment.

“Federal financial aid programs and primarily student loans are available to help students pay for their higher education expenses, and invest in their futures so that they can repay their student loans and also have the career opportunities they are interested in,” Larsen said.

As shown in the Factbook, a much larger amount of obligation aid is given. Larsen said this is because some students are starting to borrow more money while in school, partly because of the rising costs of education.

Anderson said he didn’t pay close attention to the amount of student loan debt he acquired throughout college.

“I didn’t even think about it until the exit interview; I didn’t really care until then,” he said. “It’s not something you have to pay right away, so it’s not really a reality until you graduate because that’s when the bills come.”

Larsen said students should pay attention to how much debt they are acquiring through out college.

“Students can view their federal student loans at www.nslds.ed.gov,” Larsen said.  “I encourage students to check them often.”

Larsen said payments on student loans start six months after graduation, while federal student loans have a 10-year repayment period, unless the student has them deferred.  Depending on the amount borrowed it could take up to 25 years for some students to pay  back their student loans.

“The loan repayment rate is where students have proven it is a worthy investment in their education,” Larsen said.  “The loan repayment rate at SDSU is over 99 percent.”

Larsen said interest rates vary depending on the type of loan.  Federal loans have an interest rate of 3.4 percent for the Federal Direct Subsidized loan or 6.8 percent for the Unsubsidized Federal Direct Loan.

Anderson said he’s been fortunate and able to start paying his loans off quickly.  Since graduating in December 2009, he’s been able to pay off nearly half of his student loan debt.

“When I first got out of college I lived at home, so it was a lot easier to pay them off quickly,” he said.  “Now that I have to pay rent I can’t pay as much at a time, but it will definitely be nice when I get them paid off…  it kind of looms over your head when you know that’s where half of your paycheck is going.”

Krier said she is expecting it to take years for her to pay off her student loan debt.

“I think it will probably take like 15 years,” she said.  “I know that someday because I’m going into the healthcare field I’ll be able to pay it off, but I can’t imagine how others feel.”

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Some students who live on the west side of campus at SDSU will be able to buy a less expensive meal plan next year.

SDSU is attempting to create cheaper meal plan options for students as several changes are being discussed for the next academic year.

Doug Wermedal, assistant vice president for student affairs, said that among the changes is a $600 meal plan option for sophomores and upperclassmen on the west side of campus, and the elimination of the 100-block meal plan.

Wermedal said a goal of the university is to have the northwest side of campus be primarily upperclassmen, while the southeast side is underclassmen. However, growing enrollment numbers are forcing SDSU to place a heavier population of sophomores on the northwest side of campus until construction can be done to accommodate for the growing numbers.

Wermedal said in order to maintain retention rates, incentives are being given to sophomores to live on the northwest side of campus. One of those incentives is the option to purchase a $600 meal plan.

“[It’s] critical that freshman get out there and mingle, and one of the chief ways that’s done is over that Java City coffee or over that Extreme Pita entrée,” Wermedal said. “If you have the $600 meal plan, you’ve cut in half those opportunities. That’s why it will only be offered to sophomores [and upperclassmen].”

Wermedal said the $600 meal plan will not only benefit sophomores, but also upperclassmen.

“For juniors and seniors it’s not about building social supports, but about the convenience of having an array of choices on campus,” he said. “If we can find a way for them to be able to stay on campus during their class day, that’s great, and it makes a difference.”

Wermedal said the 100-block meal plan was eliminated to provide simplicity when selecting a meal plan. Students will now have the option of a 75-block or 150-block meal plan.

“[We] did consider leaving the bronze flex option, but we didn’t take that step based on remarks from students,” he said. “It’s a desire [of] the Board of Regents to make choosing meal plans easier…so we eliminated the 100-block plan.”

Anthony Sutton, Students’ Association vice president, said the $600 meal plan is a step in the right direction, but he is hoping to see more improvements. He said eliminating meal plan options for ease of selection isn’t the way to go.

“The BOR have really harped on SDSU in several fields about us having too many rates and needing to consolidate,” Sutton said. “To me that’s a good thing. The ability for choice should never be something we shy away from, but something we embrace and move forward with because that means we can serve the entire campus population.”

Sutton and SA president, Mark York, campaigned on providing cheaper meal plan options for students. Sutton said that despite having a $600 meal plan available to some students, SA would still work to provide a greater number of cheaper meal plan options.

“I think the flex option is great, but I would personally like to see meal plan options that embrace more of the hobo dough style,” Sutton said. “Lets be creative and provide options. Choice is one of the most fundamental things we have at a college campus… so why can’t I choose to eat on or off campus and have the ability to do that?”

Carrie Moore, a senior journalism major, doesn’t think the $600 meal plan will benefit a lot of students and thinks giving students choices is important.

“I really don’t feel the $600 meal plan is an incentive to live on the west side. If I was a sophomore looking where to live, I would base my decision on the dorms, location to my classes, and overall atmosphere of the community,” Moore said. “I don’t think eliminating meal plan options is a good idea. One meal plan option may be good for one student, but not the other; it’s all about preference.”

Wermedal said that the meal plan changes will be proposed to the BOR later this month.