What’s New for 2025-2026

Items approved for the 2025-2026 academic year are listed below.

New Academic Programs

New Majors

• Healthcare Systems Engineering (B.S.)  

New Specializations

• Health Studies (B.S.) - Health Promotion Specialization  
• Health Studies (B.S.) - Innovative Healthcare Leadership Specialization  

New Certificates

• Bison Studies Certificate  
• Gateway to Agriculture Certificate  
• Gateway to Architecture and Construction Certificate  
• Gateway to Business Certificate  
• Gateway to Digital Technology Certificate  
• Gateway to Engineering Certificate  
• Gateway to Health Sciences Certificate  
• Gateway to STEM Certificate  
• Global Agricultural Leadership Certificate  
• Rural Health Certificate  

New Minors

• Bison Studies Minor  
• Financial Counseling and Planning Minor  
• Oceti Sakowin Language Minor  

Academic Programs with Title Changes

• Communication Studies (B.A./B.S.) - Communication Education Specialization  was Communication Studies (B.A./B.S.) - Speech Education Specialization
• Health Studies (B.S.)  was Community and Public Health (B.S.)
• Human Development and Family Science (B.S.)  was Human Development and Family Studies (B.S.)
• Human Development and Family Science Minor  was Human Development and Family Studies Minor
• Sport Management (B.S.)  was Sport and Recreation Management (B.S.)
• Sport Management Minor  was Sport and Recreation Management Minor 

Major Revision/Restructured Curriculum

• Consumer Behavior (B.S.)  - changed program name from Consumer Affairs, revised program requirements, and removed specializations in Consumer Services Management and Family Financial Management
• Early Childhood Education - Birth to Grade 3 (B.S.)  - revised program requirements and removed Birth to Age 8 specialization

New Locations for Existing Programs

• Wizipan Leadership and Sustainability Certificate  - added delivery at the Brookings main campus and online

Discontinued Programs

• Aviation (B.S.) - Aviation Maintenance Management Specialization
• Consumer Affairs (B.S.) - Consumer Services Management Specialization
• Consumer Affairs (B.S.) - Family Financial Management Specialization
• Early Childhood Education (B.S.) - Birth to Age 8 Specialization
• Financial Counseling Minor
• Sociology (A.S.)

New Courses

New Prefixes

• AFES (Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)
• CIV (Civics)

General Education Revisions

• CIV 100 - American Civics (COM) [SGR #3, HSDC] [CIV] Credits: 3  - added to the SGR #3 course list
• ENGL 211 Ancient World Literature - removed from the SGR #4 course list
• ENGL 212 Modern World Literature - removed from the SGR #4 course list
• ENGL 250 Science Fiction - removed from the SGR #4 course list

Department and School Updates

• The Bioprocessing Sciences Certificate  and Bioprocessing Sciences Minor  are now aligned with the Department of Biology and Microbiology  in the College of Natural Sciences .
• The Wizipan Leadership and Sustainability Certificate  is now aligned with the School of American and Global Studies  in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences .

Policy Changes/Clarifications

• Mid-Term Grading update: This policy outlines the mid-term grading process. The process has changed from students receiving a deficiency notification to a letter grade.
• Academic Progression update: This policy defines good academic standing at or above a cumulative 2.0 GPA for all students, regardless of how many credits they have accumulated. The academic standing process shall be completed in each of the fall and spring terms.
• Academic Amnesty update: This policy outlines the conditions under which eligible undergraduate students may exclude prior coursework from GPA calculations, providing a renewed academic start after a period of non-enrollment.
• General Education update: This policy outlines the general education requirements. Beginning in fall 2025, all new and transfer students will be required to meet the new civics requirement. As part of SGR #3 Social Science students must complete one course from a designated list of courses.
• Credit for Prior Learning update: This policy outlines procedures for awarding credit for prior learning and clarifies allowable fees for prior learning credit.