13-53B-2.   Agreement covering public vocational-technical education institutions. The South Dakota Board of Education may execute a tuition reciprocity agreement on behalf of the State of South Dakota with the state of Minnesota or its authorized representative in substantially the form that follows:

     The purpose of the Minnesota-South Dakota Public Vocational Education Reciprocity Agreement shall be to provide greater postsecondary educational opportunities and services to the citizens of the states of Minnesota and South Dakota through the provision of access to the public vocational-technical education institutions of each state to students of the neighboring state on an equivalent basis as students from the state in which the institution is located and with the specific aims of enhancing accessibility to programs, expanding the range of programs available, and promoting the greater economy of state finances through cooperative planning to avoid duplication of programs.

     As used in this Agreement:

     "Academic year" means that period of time commencing with the institution's fall quarter or semester and terminating with the subsequent summer sessions.

     "Participant" means a person who has been accepted and enrolled at an eligible institution under the provisions set forth in this Agreement.

     "Participating states" means those states which are party to this Agreement, i.e., Minnesota and South Dakota.

     "Tuition differential factor" means that number calculated annually which is the result of averaging the average weighted difference between the resident and nonresident tuition for all programs at all eligible institutions in the participating states.

     A. This agreement shall become effective at the commencement of the academic year next succeeding its approval by the appropriate authorities in the participating states and shall continue from year to year unless terminated as hereafter provided.

     B. Modification of this Agreement may be proposed at any time and shall become effective upon mutual agreement of both parties and approval by the appropriate state authorities.

     C. Either party hereto may terminate this Agreement at any time; provided, however, that such termination shall only work to preclude any further admissions under the terms hereof but shall not prejudice the rights of participants to complete the academic program in which they are enrolled at the date of termination.

     The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall, to the extent provided, govern matriculation of all institutions under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Board of Education, and the Minnesota Board of Education-Vocational-Technical Division and shall extend to all programs. It is the intent of this Agreement that there shall be no limitation on the number of students who may participate from either state, except to the extent of program restrictions and availability of space in the particular program which the student seeks to enter.

     A. All persons who qualify as residents of Minnesota or South Dakota for purposes of public vocational-technical education under the laws or rules of the state in which they claim to reside, shall be eligible to apply for admission and attend any of the eligible institutions or programs. It is specifically understood and agreed that all participants under this program shall be treated on an equal basis with state residents, such equality of treatment particularly including, but not necessarily limited to, admissions, tuition and fees.

     B. Any resident of a state who otherwise attends an eligible institution in the other state, under conditions which obviate the necessity of paying nonresident charges, shall not be an eligible participant under this program.

     C. Participants under this program established by this Agreement shall be required to satisfy those admission and performance requirements and comply with all policies, rules and regulations of the institution in which they are matriculated unless herein otherwise provided.

     D. All forms of financial aid provided by any eligible institution shall be available to a participant under the program established by this Agreement, except those aid programs totally supported by state funds or private funds, for which eligibility is legally restricted, and provided the participant otherwise qualified for the aid.

     A. The South Dakota Board of Education and the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board (MHECB) shall be responsible for the administration of this Agreement and pursuant thereto may adopt rules and procedures and may enter into cooperative agreements.

     B. Each board shall determine the eligibility of applicants to become participants based on their state's residency policies. Where a participant's residency status originates in one state and is later terminated but may prospectively be established in the other state, then the participant shall, for the purposes of this Agreement, be treated as a resident of the originating state for one year or until residency is subsequently established in a participating state, whichever shall occur first.

     C. Each state shall cooperatively audit the eligible institutions at least annually with the objective of verifying the enrollment and continued attendance of participants.

     D. The applicant procedure, determination of eligibility and effective reciprocity tuition schedules shall be specified in the annual administrative memorandum prepared by the administering agencies.

     E. Neither state agency will be financially liable for students enrolled under the reciprocity agreement who have not received prior approval and certification by the responsible agency.

     A. Annually, each state shall determine the number of participants and the total clock hours for which nonresident tuition has been remitted under this Agreement and shall certify to the other state the results. Certification shall be submitted by the first day of December and shall encompass the previous academic year.

     B. The state with the greater total clock hours of participation shall reimburse the other in an amount which shall be determined by multiplying the difference between the states' total clock hours of participation by the tuition differential factor for the year in question.

     C. Any payment required under this Agreement shall be to the State of South Dakota general fund or the state of Minnesota.

     This agreement is entered into by the South Dakota Board of Education pursuant to the authority granted in this section and by the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board pursuant to the authority granted in Minn. Stats. Ch. 136A.08 and shall therefore be liberally construed in accordance with the intent and to accomplish the purposes of those provisions. If any phrase, clause, sentence or provision of this Agreement or any modification hereof or supplement hereto be determined to be contrary to or inconsistent with the authority above cited or the constitution of either state, or the applicability thereof to any agency, person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of this Agreement or of any modification or supplement or its applicability to any agency, person or circumstances shall not thereby be rendered ineffective.

Source: SL 1985, ch 146.

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