The Legislative Commission is charged with investigating areas where North and South Dakota state governments can work collaboratively for service enhancements and cost savings. Public higher education can benefit from increased collaboration between the states. In fact, North and South Dakota already are involved in activities to share resources and opportunities and both have been working to identify areas for further cooperation. Last year, staffs from the North Dakota University System and South Dakota Board of Regents met to learn about new programs in each other's state and to discuss ways to improve service to both states. This is to be an ongoing process by which both states can enhance service to students.
Students have greater accessibility to programs out of their home state at an affordable cost.
This arrangement gives students greater access to higher education and helps states avoid expensive duplication of programs and facilities. There are also numerous individual and institutional relationships that cross the state line. At the Legislative Commission meeting, North and South Dakota public higher education officials outlined additional areas to consider for future cooperation between the two states. Cooperative Purchasing Higher education requires many purchases specific to the instructional delivery and research functions that universities carry out, such as classroom technology, laboratory equipment, and educational computer software Through a cooperative arrangement to handle purchasing, the North and South Dakota university systems could combine their purchasing power to supply the universities' unique needs in a more cost-efficient manner. Distance Education Increased accessibility to higher education, as well as cost savings for the university systems, can be recognized by utilizing distance education technology to offer courses across the Dakotas.