Board of Regents to Consider Reduced-Credit Degrees
November 9, 2026
BROOKINGS, S.D. (S.D. News Watch)–Some South Dakota Board of Regents schools are looking at implementing the first reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees in the state, illustrating changing attitudes toward higher education and the perceived value of a four-year degree.
Reduced credit degrees are being considered and implemented on a national scale. A study from RAND found that as of this spring, 30 states had implemented 90-credit degrees thus far.
The number of reduced-credit degrees announced by institutions increased from five programs in 2024 to 48 programs in 2025.
The study also found that reduced-credit degrees were more common in private, nonprofit institutions versus public institutions.
The proposal South Dakota State University is considering would change SDSU’s Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management bachelor’s degree, which currently requires 120 credits like other BA degrees, to a bachelor of applied science that would require 90 credits.
At an SDSU Faculty Senate meeting on Oct. 27, faculty debated the proposal for almost an hour. Nathan Lukkes, executive director of the Board of Regents, attended the meeting. The program was ultimately approved to go on to the BOR Academic Affairs Council – with four senators voting no.
Lukkes didn’t say where or how many schools are proposing reduced credit degrees in the BOR system. Shuree Mortenson, communications director for the BOR, could not disclose the other schools that are considering 90-credit bachelor of applied science degrees.
“There is one in the business realm,” Lukkes said at the meeting. “And then there’s one, I believe, that’s getting kicked around in the criminal justice realm.”
Changing attitudes toward higher education
Faculty, university leadership and Lukkes discussed higher education’s role in the fight to retain students in the midst of changing societal views on the value of a degree.
“Higher ed used to be valued. I mean, face value – unquestionable. You did it; the return was there. To now, just questioning everything,” Lukkes said. “‘We’re not going to pay the price you’re charging. We don’t need all of these credits. There’s a better model out there.’ And I don’t have the answer.”
That’s illustrated by the rates of students continuing their education at four-year, two-year, in-state, out-of-state, private or public institutions. At the peak in South Dakota, almost 70% of high school graduates went on to continue their education. Now, Lukkes said, South Dakota is regressing back into the low-60% range.
The state’s two largest population centers, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, have seen decreased rates of students attending some type of college after completing high school, Lukkes said.
In the Sioux Falls School District, 56% of students pursue any form of higher education within 16 months of graduating, according to data from the South Dakota Department of Education’s most recent report card. In the Rapid City Area School District, that number drops to less than half (49%) of students continuing their studies.
“The devaluing of higher education and the reduced matriculation that we’re seeing from the traditional K-12 graduates, you know, we have gone backwards,” Lukkes said. “At what point do we regress so far that we would have been better off expanding our horizons a little bit, doing things differently, and serving more students?”
An August story from The Associated Press said proponents say these programs “are a solution to the college affordability crisis and a godsend for non-traditional students.”
“Critics, however, worry that they’ll narrow too much what students learn, confuse employers, limit graduate school options and create headaches in fields that require state licenses.”
Response to industry changes
Lee Weidauer, an associate professor in the same college as the Hospitality, Tourism and Event Management program, said he was impressed by the flexibility the proposal showed to respond to real changes in the hospitality industry.
“One of our charges by our accrediting body is to put out professionals into the field that are trained in the manner that they can be employed and that adds value to the people in the field,” Weidauer said. “So I understand some of the concerns with it going to 90 credits. I don’t feel as though it’s completely driven by just enrollment problems. The enrollment problems are caused by industry changes, and that’s what I feel like this proposal is responding to.”
Faculty agreed that the approach wouldn’t work for every program and should be kept to very narrow instances. But some faculty at SDSU still had concerns.
James Murphy, an associate professor of religion in the School of American and Global Studies, said there are worries in his college that it would become a “slippery slope” and that the decision could become a precedent.
Other faculty echoed that.
“My concern is with precedence and that something that is 72 classroom credits plus 18 internship credits will be called a bachelor’s when the norm is 120 credits. This program may come and go. But once the precedent has been set, it’s been set, and that’s concerning,” said history professor William Prigge.
What happens next
The proposal for a 90-credit Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management degree will go to the Board of Regents Academic Affairs Council, a committee that includes representatives from each university and the board office, Mortenson said in an email to News Watch.
If approved by that council, the proposal will go to the full Board of Regents for approval. That could be at the December or April board meetings if the proposal makes it through the full process, Mortenson said.
Lukkes said he firmly believes in maintaining rigor and high standards while providing as much good value to students.
“Do we retreat, give up some ground, protect the rest of the castle, and keep 70% of what we’ve always done in the traditional sense, and then give up 30% in other areas? Do we stand firm and not erode and risk market share, not serving students – and at some point potentially your financial liability?” he said.
“These seem like they should be rhetorical questions, but they’re real questions today and the types of things that we’re struggling with,” Lukkes said. “And quite frankly, there’s no definitive good answer.”
