Since 2004, when the merit-based South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship was first awarded, observers have credited the scholarship with keeping students in college and completing a degree. Now there are new data to prove that point.
An analysis by the South Dakota Board of Regents looked at 2,652 students from South Dakota high schools who began a bachelor’s degree program in fall 2008 at one of the six state universities. Six years after initially enrolling, nearly nine in 10 students (88.5 percent) who received a South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship either had graduated or were still enrolled in a postsecondary institution.
For students who did not receive or did not qualify for the scholarship, only six in 10 students had similarly persisted.
Loading ...