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Dickinson State University

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Dickinson State University (DSU) is a public university in Dickinson, North Dakota. It is part of the North Dakota University System. It was founded in 1918 as Dickinson State Normal School[5] and granted full university status in 1987.

Dickinson State University
Former names
Dickinson State Normal School (1918–1931)
Dickinson State Teachers College (1931–1963)
North Dakota State College (1963–1964)
Dickinson State College (1964–1965)
State University of North Dakota at Dickinson (1965–1987)
MottoSmall Community. Big Opportunity.
TypePublic university
Established1918; 106 years ago (1918)[1][2]
Parent institution
North Dakota University System
Academic affiliations
Space-grant
Endowment$8.9 million[3]
PresidentTy Orton
Academic staff
63
Administrative staff
212
Students1,392[4]
Location
Dickinson, North Dakota
,
U.S.
CampusUrban, 110 acres (45 ha)
Colors   
Navy Blue & Gray
NicknameBlue Hawks
Sporting affiliations
NAIA – NSAA
MascotBuster Blue Hawk
Websitewww.dickinsonstate.edu

History

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Dickinson State was established as a normal school to fill a need for qualified teachers in rural western North Dakota, where fewer than one-quarter of the people working as teachers in the early 1900s were certified as teachers. The university considers June 24, 1918, to be its founding date; this was the first day of classes for the Dickinson Normal School. When first established, the school was tuition-free and operated in the facilities of Dickinson High School. The first campus building, May Hall, was built in 1924.[6]

During World War II, Dickinson State Teachers College was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V-12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission.[7]

Enrollment and graduation controversies

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In 2011 and 2012, Dickinson State attracted negative attention for some of its academic and business practices. In 2011, the university was discovered to have overstated its enrollments by practices such as counting people as students who had merely attended a conference on the campus.[8] This situation resulted in the dismissal of the university president, Richard J. McCallum.[9][10][11]

A North Dakota University System audit report released in February 2012 found that the school had relaxed standards and waived some requirements to increase enrollment of foreign students and had, over a period of several years, awarded degrees to 584 foreign students who had not completed the required coursework. The report was a followup of an earlier meeting between Dickinson officials and the Higher Learning Commission at which the DSU officials "realized they may have an issue with one or more of the HLC’s requirements surrounding academic agreements".[12] Most of the university's foreign students came from China, where the university employed recruiting agents who falsely claimed to be university employees and sometimes misrepresented the university's programs. News media accounts described the audit report as depicting Dickinson State as a degree mill.[13][14][15][16] The audit had been requested by the university's president, Douglas Coston, who took office as Interim President in August 2011, after some university international agreements were found not to conform with requirements of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and the Higher Learning Commission.[12] On the day of the audit release, the Dean of Education committed suicide.[17] Six months later, in July, Dickinson's regional accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), placed the university "on notice," requiring the university provide detailed responses to concerns found in the accreditor's recent site visit.[18] That status was removed three years later when HLC renewed DSU's accreditation for ten years.[19]

Financial challenges

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In 2023, the university eliminated seven degree programs to address ongoing financial challenges. This included firing tenured faculty in those programs. The university's decisions and actions were met with protests from faculty and others. University leaders also reorganized parts of the university and eliminated other positions.[20] The following year, the university changed its academic policies to increase class sizes and require faculty to teach more students.[21] In response, all seven faculty members in the university's nursing program resigned, protesting that the new policies are unworkable in their program.[22] The university was already under scrutiny by the program's accreditor, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and the state's board of nursing did not approve president Eaton's plan for hiring new faculty. He subsequently announced his plans to resign and Dickinson's nursing program partnered with Mayville State University to continue Dickinson's nursing program.[23][24]

Academics

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Dickinson State offers bachelor's degrees in more than 75 fields of study through 10 academic departments. The university also offers certificates and associate degrees.[25] However, it specializes in business management, teacher education, and nursing. Most students attending DSU are business management majors although education (both elementary and secondary), nursing, natural science, and agriculture majors constitute significant areas of study.

The university long ago outgrew its original teachers' college status and has since adopted a broader mission. The present programs include not only teacher education and the liberal arts, but also specialized programs in business, nursing, agriculture, and computer science. There is also opportunity for pre-professional study and vocational training in selected areas.

Student programs are based on a core of General Education courses, including fine arts, humanities, natural sciences, mathematics, and the social and behavioral sciences. Dickinson State University students are encouraged to complete their general education requirements by the end of the sophomore year. Students are then free as juniors and seniors to explore a major field of study.

Accreditation

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Dickinson State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Although the university was placed "on notice" in July 2012[18] it was removed from that status in October 2013 and is fully accredited.[26]

Athletics

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The Dickinson State athletic teams are called the Blue Hawks. The university is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) for most of its sports since the 2014–15 academic year; while its men's wrestling team competes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). The Blue Hawks previously competed in the Frontier Conference from 2012–13 to 2013–14; as an NAIA Independent within the Association of Independent Institutions (AII) during the 2011–12 school year; and in these defunct conferences: the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC) from 2000–01 to 2010–11; and the North Dakota College Athletic Conference (NDCAC) from 1931–32 to 1999–2000. The team was known as the Savages until 1972 when they changed their name to the Blue Hawks.[27]

Dickinson State competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, track & field and wrestling; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, softball, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading, eSports and rodeo.

Accomplishments

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Hank Biesiot is a former football coach and was one of the few active coaches at the college level with 200 or more wins and 30 or more seasons. Biesiot led the Blue Hawks to the NAIA semifinals in 1991. The women's volleyball team won the school's first national championship in 2000. The men's track and field team won NAIA national championships three consecutive years from 2004 to 2006 under coach Pete Stanton. They were national runner up five other times in the eight-year period from 2003 to 2010.

Communications

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DSU News covers current happenings among DSU related students and staff.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library

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On April 30, 2013, both chambers of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly passed a bill appropriating $12 million to Dickinson State University to award a grant to the Theodore Roosevelt Center for construction of a building to be named the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. To access these funds, the Theodore Roosevelt Center must first raise $3 million from non-state sources.[28] Dickinson State University is also home to the Theodore Roosevelt Digital Library which has formed partnerships with the Library of Congress and Harvard University, among other institutions. They currently have over 25,000 items online.

Notable alumni

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dickinson State University | Best College | US News". Archived from the original on 2011-02-19.
  2. ^ "Dickinson State University :: North Dakota". Archived from the original on 2011-09-04. Retrieved 2011-07-27.
  3. ^ As of June 30, 2009. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2009 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2008 to FY 2009" (PDF). 2009 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 14, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
  4. ^ "DSU sees third year of increased student retention, overall enrollment dips slightly". Sep 18, 2018. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  5. ^ "History Of Dickinson State University". Dickinson State University. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2011.
  6. ^ History Of Dickinson State University, Dickinson State University, archived from the original on April 26, 2012, retrieved February 11, 2012
  7. ^ "Navy yearbook, Dickinson State Teachers College". Dickinson, North Dakota: Dickinson State Teachers College. 1943. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
  8. ^ Berrett, Dan (August 7, 2011), "Battle Shapes Up as Dickinson State U. President Refuses to Resign", Chronicle of Higher Education, retrieved February 10, 2012
  9. ^ Berrett, Dan (August 8, 2011). "Dickinson State U. President Is Fired in Wake of Enrollment Errors". Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  10. ^ "Judge Upholds Firing of University President Accused of Inflating Enrollment". Chronicle of Higher Education. December 9, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
  11. ^ "State of North Dakota Board Board of Higher Education v Richard McCallum" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2011-12-11.
  12. ^ a b Internal Review Report: International Transfer Agreement review, Dickinson State University (PDF), North Dakota University System, February 10, 2012, p. 7[permanent dead link‍]
  13. ^ Audit Depicts N. Dakota University As Degree Mill - NPR, February 10, 2012
  14. ^ "Chinese at North Dakota School Got Unearned Degrees, State Says", Bloomberg Business Week, February 11, 2012, archived from the original on July 22, 2012
  15. ^ Dickinson State - alleged diploma mill for Chinese - Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle, Feb 10, 2012
  16. ^ Degrees (Without the Work) for Foreign Students at a North Dakota University - New York Times, 10 Feb 2012
  17. ^ Dickinson State University dean found dead Bismarck Tribune, February 10, 2012
  18. ^ a b "HLC affirms Dickinson State's accreditation". Dickinson State University. July 13, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  19. ^ "Letter from Higher Learning Commission" (PDF). www.dickinsonstate.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-29. Retrieved 2016-01-22.
  20. ^ Holguin, Jr., Manuel (September 28, 2023). "Dickinson State University unveils discontinuation of seven majors, tenured faculty affected". The New Dickinson Press. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  21. ^ Holguin, Jr., Manuel (February 16, 2024). "Dickinson State University implements policy overhaul". The New Dickinson Press. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Fleck, Maiya (July 11, 2024). "All nursing faculty resign from Dickinson State University". KFYR-TV. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  23. ^ Palmer, Kathryn (July 16, 2024). "Dickinson State President Resigns, Blaming Nursing Board". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  24. ^ Holguin, Jr., Manuel (July 19, 2024). "DSU and Mayville State University forge partnership for nursing program". Dickinson Press. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  25. ^ "Majors and Programs | Dickinson State University". 02-Section. Retrieved Dec 23, 2019.
  26. ^ Bryan Horwath (November 1, 2013). "Relief at DSU: Higher Learning Commission decides school keeps full accreditation". The Dickinson Press. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
  27. ^ "Jenkinson: UND should give up the fight". Bismarck Tribune. November 13, 2005. p. 2C.
  28. ^ http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/money-approved-for-possible-teddy-roosevelt-library/article_5d7afaa8-b3f6-11e2-a584-0019bb2963f4.html. Retrieved January 5, 2014. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)[dead link‍]
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46°52′58″N 102°48′01″W / 46.88278°N 102.80028°W / 46.88278; -102.80028

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