College

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10,700 South Dakotans enroll in student loan repayment program; Thune files opposition measure

BY: - September 5, 2023

WASHINGTON — More than 4 million federal student loan borrowers — including 10,700 in South Dakota — are enrolled in the Biden administration’s new repayment program, according to figures released Tuesday by the Department of Education. With the pause of more than three years on federal student loan repayments coming to an end in October, […]

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Here’s what to know about new federal policies for repaying student loans

BY: - August 22, 2023

WASHINGTON — Following the Supreme Court’s summer ruling against 40 million federal student loan borrowers who would have qualified for debt relief, the Biden administration crafted a year-long delay in repayments. The policy, known as an on-ramp, is set to begin next month. Additionally, hours after the Supreme Court’s decision, the Department of Education unveiled […]

Students at the entrance to the University of South Dakota Knudson School of Law. (Photo courtesy of USD)

Regents prioritize tuition freeze, civics & quantum computing in 2025 budget request

BY: - July 19, 2023

The South Dakota Board of Regents will ask Gov. Kristi Noem and the Legislature to freeze public university tuition for a fourth year in a row, the organization decided in a special Zoom meeting Wednesday, in addition to requesting funds for other priorities such as a system-wide center for civic engagement. Noem has been a […]

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South Dakota student debt relief could reach $147 million under new plan

BY: - July 18, 2023

More than 3,000 South Dakotans qualify for a combined $147 million in student debt relief offered by a new Biden administration policy, according to the U.S. Department of Education. The Department of Education and the White House announced last week that more than 800,000 federal student loan borrowers across the country will have their remaining […]

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More than 800,000 student loan borrowers to have debt forgiven, White House announces

BY: - July 14, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Department of Education and the White House announced Friday that more than 800,000 federal student loan borrowers will have their remaining debt wiped out. The $39 billion in debt relief will come through fixes to mismanagement of the agency’s income-driven repayment plans. Many long-time borrowers, including those who had been making payments […]

Student loan borrowers stage a rally in front of the White House to celebrate President Biden cancelling student debt and to begin the fight to cancel any remaining debt on Aug. 25, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Paul Morigi/Getty Images for We the 45m)

US Supreme Court rules against Biden administration student loan debt relief plan

BY: - June 30, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the Biden administration does not have the legal authority to enact a one-time student debt relief program, dealing a blow to the 40 million Americans who would have qualified. Last year, the Biden Administration rolled out a debt forgiveness plan for borrowers with federal student […]

Protestors near the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., after a ruling by the court striking down the use of affirmative action in college acceptance decisions, on Thursday, June 29, 2023. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

‘This is not a normal court,’ says Biden as GOP opponents praise affirmative action ruling

BY: - June 29, 2023

WASHINGTON — Thursday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that effectively scrambles the role affirmative action plays in the college admissions process cannot let the country slide “backwards,” President Joe Biden said just hours after the majority justices released their opinion. Meanwhile, Republicans seeking to challenge him in 2024 praised the decision. Issues of race and higher […]

Gov. Kristi Noem speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation conference at the Library of Congress on Feb. 17, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Noem criticizes universities, issues series of ‘challenges’

BY: - May 25, 2023

Gov. Kristi Noem challenged the South Dakota Board of Regents in a letter Thursday to “improve higher education” in the state through a range of suggestions. Noem said she wants to bolster free speech, ban drag shows and the use of preferred pronouns on campuses, root out Chinese influence, require U.S. history and government classes, […]

A vote-here sign, pictured on Nov. 8, 2022, at the All Souls Church on Cliff Avenue in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

A top GOP lawyer wants to crack down on the college vote. States already are.

BY: - April 30, 2023

A top Republican election lawyer recently caused a stir when she told GOP donors that the party should work to make it harder for college students to vote in key states. But the comments from Cleta Mitchell, who worked closely with then-President Donald Trump to try to overturn the 2020 election, are perhaps less surprising […]

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A watchdog says the feds aren’t doing enough to investigate problem colleges

BY: - January 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — Incomplete written guidelines and penalties that had not been updated since 2016.  Significant turnover and reductions among staff.  Changing agency priorities and department probes put “on hold.”  Over the past six years, these problems have stifled the U.S. Department of Education’s investigations team that is supposed to probe colleges that misrepresent themselves to […]

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New federal student loan repayment plan aimed at low-income borrowers

BY: - January 10, 2023

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education unveiled a proposal Tuesday that would overhaul a federal student loan income-driven repayment plan, and, if implemented, could help millions of low-income borrowers. However, it’s unclear how the agency would be able to finance the program. Many student debt relief advocates also criticized the proposal for leaving out […]