Enrollment down at 2 of 3 SD University Centers

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Enrollment at two of South Dakota’s three off-campus state University Centers fell in 2011, declines officials mainly attribute to spring flooding around Pierre and the relocation of a Sioux Falls nursing program.

Capital University Center in Pierre saw a 28 percent drop in credit hours last summer after the Missouri River swelled over its banks in early June 2011. The disruption also affected the subsequent fall and spring semesters at the center, which moved to its own $3.5 million site in 2009, with credit hours down about 14 percent in each, said director Ron Woodburn.