presentation college in south dakota

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Presentation College in South Dakota plans to close

Dive Brief:

• Presentation College said Tuesday that it will soon shut down, ending the run of the small nonprofit in Aberdeen, South Dakota, which was founded more than seven decades ago by an order of Catholic nuns seeking to provide nursing education to boost rural healthcare.
• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, college leaders started evaluating their prospects for increasing enrollment, which totaled under 600 students in fall 2021. But the college faced challenges including a high dependency on gifts and tuition revenue, a remote location that's hard for out-of-state students to reach, and the pandemic.
• Presentation won't enroll new students for the 2023-24 academic year. It will shut down its Aberdeen campus operations after the upcoming spring and summer sessions and transfer an online nursing program it operates to a Catholic university in Iowa.

Dive Insight:

Several of Presentation College's key metrics mirror those of other stressed or closing colleges. It's small, it has been losing enrollment, and it has been increasingly discounting tuition.

The institution enrolled 821 students in fall 2016, according to federal data. But its student body shrank steadily since then to just 577 five years later.

Presentation discounted tuition at increasing rates over that time period, its audited financial statements show. In fiscal 2016 , it listed $3.5 million in scholarships and grants versus $13.8 million in topline tuition and fee revenue. By 2021 , scholarships and grants totaled $4.3 million against $11.8 million in tuition and fee revenue.  

In other words, the college went from not collecting 25 cents for every dollar it charged in sticker price to forgoing 36 cents, even as it enrolled fewer students.

"After careful evaluation of the sustainability of the College’s academic programs, and a thorough review of alternatives, the Board of Trustees and Presentation Sisters reluctantly decided to close the physical campus and implement Teach-Out programs as the most responsible way to steward students’ pathways to completing their degrees," Sister Mary Thomas, president of the Presentation Sisters Corporate Board, said in a statement Tuesday.

The university has teach-out agreements in place with the University of Mary, in North Dakota, Olivet College, in Michigan, and St. Ambrose University, in Iowa. It's seeking additional teach-out partners.

St. Ambrose is also taking on an online bachelor of science in nursing program operated by Presentation. It will become known as the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing at St. Ambrose University, named for the founder of the Presentation Sisters.

"St. Ambrose University’s state-of-the-art nursing program is a natural fit with Presentation to create the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing, ensuring the legacies of the College and the Presentation Sisters," Presentation College President Paula Langteau said in a statement.

Most Presentation programs will end after the spring semester. A practical nursing program will run through August.

Presentation is shutting down after closing a branch campus in Fairmont, Minnesota, where it started operating in 2003 . The institution closed that branch in 2021. 

When the branch closure was announced, Vice President for Academics Diane Duin pointed to low application numbers and increasing local competition. Duin told the Fairmont Sentinel the college had "opportunities for online learning." As of 2019, the branch had enrolled about 50 students.

Presentation College joins a growing list of institutions to close or announce plans to shutter in the wake of the pandemic. 

Among them are several other Catholic institutions. In the last year, two in California, Holy Names University and Marymount California University , decided to close. Chatfield College , a two-year institution in Ohio, opted to stop operating as a higher education institution and turn into a nonprofit group trying to improve degree attainment. And St. John's University laid plans to close a campus it operates on Staten Island, New York, after the spring 2024 term.

In each of those cases, college leaders pointed to declining enrollment. They often also cited rising expenses and pressures exacerbated by the pandemic.

Numerous factors challenging small private colleges existed before the pandemic. Pressures stemming from college costs, student price sensitivity and economies of scale in operations predate the crisis. So do declines in birth rates around the Great Recession that have long been predicted to drive down the overall number of high school graduates available to enroll in college in many parts of the country. 

But colleges were temporarily buoyed by millions of dollars apiece in federal pandemic relief funding. That money was generally most valuable to institutions under the greatest preexisting financial stress.

Now no more aid is coming, leaving college leaders still worried about risks that enrollment constraints pose to their business models. Institutions with noncompetitive admissions are generally considered most likely to lose enrollment and the important net tuition revenue it drives.

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2022-2023 Catalog

• VOL. LXVII: Accreditation
• The President's Message
• The College

Undergraduate Admission Process and Requirements

• Graduate Admission Process and Requirements
• Probationary Acceptance
• Placement Testing
• High School/College Dual Credit
• Senior Citizens
• Auditing a Class
• Academic Advising
• Privacy of Information Statement
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Financial Aid & Financial Information
• Campus Life
• Academic Policies
• Graduate Studies
• Division of Pre-Professional Studies
• Division of Nursing
• Course Descriptions
• College Administration & Faculty
• Disclaimer, Nondiscrimination, and Compliance
• Academic Calendar
• Sponsored by the Presentation Sisters
• Addenda to 2022-2023 Catalog
• Catalog Home
• All Catalogs

UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSION PROCESS AND REQUIREMENTS

The following criteria are used to determine admission for various categories of students including First-Time Freshman, Home-School, Readmit, Transfer, Degree Completion, Unclassified, and International Students. Certain programs have additional specific criteria for admission. Refer to the respective section in this catalog for any additional requirements.

New First-Time Freshmen

First-Time Freshmen must meet one of the following requirements:

• Completion of high school diploma.**
• Completion of General Educational Development (GED) and be 18 years of age or older to meet the compulsory school attendance requirement in South Dakota.

First-Time Freshmen who have completed (1) will be admitted to the college when meeting one of the following requirements: 

•   A student having a minimum high school cumulative GPA of 2.75 out of a 4.0 GPA.
•   A student having a minimum ACT composite score of 20 out of 36.
•   A student having a minimum SAT composite score of 1040 out of 1600.

First-Time Freshmen who have completed (2) will be admitted to the college when meeting the following requirements: 

•   A student having a minimum cumulative GED score of 450.

First-Time Freshmen must follow these steps to complete the process:

• Submit an application for admission found at https://mypc.presentation.edu/applynow/inquiryform
• If the student is still attending high school, the transcript must include courses completed and courses in progress. Students must also arrange for a final transcript to be sent after graduation from high school with the graduation date posted.
• Submit the non-refundable application fee of $25

*Options for official transcript submission:

• Paper transcripts can be accepted as official provided they are either mailed or personally delivered to the Admissions Office in the original, sealed envelope from the school.
• Electronic transcripts can be accepted as official provided they are emailed directly from the school or are submitted via an electronic transcript service to the Admissions Office via the domain @presentation.edu

All records submitted, filed, and accumulated in the Admissions and Registrar's Offices become the property of the College.

Upon receipt of these items, the Admissions Office will notify applicants of acceptance, provisional acceptance, probationary acceptance, or denial of acceptance into the College.

**The Admissions department may review the transcript for validity at its discretion. The Admissions department will consult with the Department of Education website for that particular state to ensure that the student graduated from an accredited high school.

Home-Schooled Students

Home-Schooled Students must meet one of the following requirements:

Home-Schooled Students who have completed (1) will be admitted to the college when meeting one of the following requirements: 

Home-Schooled Students who have completed (2) will be admitted to the college when meeting the following requirements: 

Home-Schooled Students must follow these steps to complete the process:

• Transcript can be requested from the local home schooling guild or association school. If not available, primary educator-prepared transcripts, which detail course descriptions, proficiency levels, and textbooks used, are acceptable. If the student is still attending high school, the transcript must include courses completed and courses in progress. Students must also arrange for a final transcript to be sent after graduation from high school with the graduation date posted.

**The Admissions department may review the transcript for validity at their discretion. The Admissions department will consult with the Department of Education website for that particular state to ensure that the student graduated from an accredited high school.

Readmit Students

Readmit Students must meet the following requirement:

• Readmit students are subject to entrance requirements and major requirements as stated in the College Catalog in service at the time of reentry. Students who graduate from Presentation College with a prior degree or certificate and reenter the following semester are also required to reapply for admission to the College.

Readmit Students must follow these steps to complete the process:

• Submit any official* college or university transcripts since last admission, whether or not credit was received. Readmit Students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale from their previous Presentation College transcript.
• Submit the non-refundable application fee of $25.
• Other requirements, if applicable.

Transfer Students

Transfer Students must meet the following requirement:

• If a transfer student does not have 24 or more college credits they will be admitted as a first-time freshman, but have transfer status.

Transfer Students must follow these steps to complete the process:

• Submit all official* college or university transcripts. Transfer Students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale once all transcripts are received.

If students are currently enrolled at another institution, partial transcripts may be submitted and considered for provisional admission until the final official transcripts arrive. Please contact the Admissions Office regarding transcript evaluations. All credits attempted (except remedial courses) will be calculated into the admission GPA.

Degree Completion Students

Degree Completion Students must meet the following requirement:

• Have completed an Associate’s degree or higher, and seeking to enter a baccalaureate program at Presentation College.

Degree Completion Students must follow these steps to complete the process:

Unclassified Students

Students who wish to enroll without pursuing a program or degree from Presentation College are considered unclassified. The Registrar will advise and register unclassified students. A maximum of 6 credit hours per semester is permitted on a space available basis with a total maximum of 12 credit hours taken as an unclassified student while at Presentation College. Courses taken by unclassified students may include general or select department coursework. Unclassified students do not qualify for federal, state, or institutional financial aid.

If unclassified students later wish to become degree-seeking, the entire College admission process must be completed.

International Students

Presentation College invites and encourages international students to apply for admission. The College is authorized under Federal law to enroll non-immigrant alien students.

First Time Freshmen International applicants must provide the Admissions Office with the following:

1. Proof of High school diploma and high school transcript. International high school (secondary) transcripts can be evaluated internally by Presentation College, or externally by an accredited evaluation service. Transcripts must be submitted in the original language and translated into English if sent directly to the admissions office. Presentation College reserves the right to require a third-party agency to evaluate the transcript. High School Transcripts must have a minimum 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.

2.   A completed application form due by July 1 for fall semester; November 1 for spring semester.

3.  Non-refundable application fee of $25.

4.   Meet minimum English proficiency standards. Methods for demonstrating minimum English proficiency standards are listed below.

5.  Completed Declaration of Finances form and an official bank statement.

6.  Photocopy of current passport and photocopy of F-1 VISA once obtained.

Co llege or University Transfer* International applicants must provide the Admissions Office with the following:

1.  Submit an application for admission found at www.presentation.edu/admission/apply/

2.  Submit all official* college or university transcripts. Transfer Students must have a minimum cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.00 on a 4.00 scale once all transcripts are received.

3.  Submit the non-refundable application fee of $25

4. Meet minimum English Proficiency standards. Methods for demonstrating minimum English proficiency standards are listed below.

5. Completed Declaration of Finances form and an official bank statement.

6. Photocopy of current passport and photocopy of F-1 VISA once obtained.

*To be considered for admission to PC as an international transfer student, a minimum of 24 completed semester credits at a cumulative 2.00 grade point average (GPA), on a 4.00 scale. Applicants who have postsecondary transcripts from an international institution and request consideration of credits earned for acceptance to Presentation College must submit the transcripts to a translation company in the United States for an academic evaluation. The cost of the evaluation is the responsibility of the student. An evaluation is subject to policies as printed in this catalog.

Declaration of Finances and Bank Statement

Since financial assistance for international students is extremely limited, applicants must demonstrate evidence of ability to meet the costs of the chosen program by completing a Declaration of Finances form. Students will be required to utilize their home banking institution to certify available funding. Once adequate financial resources are confirmed, an application is completed, and all other requirements are on file, applicants will be considered for admission. If accepted, an official I-20 form will be sent to the student. Arrangements for obtaining a VISA may then be made by the accepted student at the American Embassy or Consulate in the student's home country.

All required application materials must be received by July 15 for fall semester and November 15 for spring semester.

IMPORTANT: All fees, deposits, tuition, housing charges, etc., are payable in U.S. funds.

Non-Resident Alien and ESL Students

Non-resident alien students or students whose native language is not English must provide the Admissions Office with the following:

1.  A completed application form

2.  Non-refundable application fee of $25

3.   Meet minimum English proficiency standards. Methods for demonstrating minimum English proficiency standards are listed below.

4.   Students who have completed high school in the United States must meet the minimum ACT or SAT exam requirements.

English Proficiency Standards

There are two ways to meet Presentation College’s English language proficiency requirement:

Presentation College accepts scores from the following exams. Scores must be sent directly to Presentation College from the testing agency in order to be counted as official. Score reports can be sent electronically or by postal mail to the Admissions Office. Scores must be less than two years old to be considered for admissions.

TOEFL score (Test of English as a Foreign Language): 65 web-based, 525 paper and pencil ( PC's TOEFL code: 6582)

IELTS International English Language Testing System: 5.5

Pearson PTE Academic: 46

SAT: 490 Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing sub score

ACT: 18 English sub score

• Language Waivers:

There are several ways to qualify for a waiver. Students will not need to provide an exam score if they meet any of the following criteria:

• Waiver Option A – If the student has attended a U.S. high school or an international high school that is regionally accredited in the United States for two or more years
• Waiver Option B – If the student has an associate of arts or sciences degree or a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited university with a cumulative 2.00 GPA
• Waiver Option C – If the student has attended a U.S. regionally accredited college or university, has completed the transferable equivalents of PC’s English Composition 113 with a 2.00 or above grade point average for each course at the time of application, and has 24 semester college level admission credits completed by the beginning of classes for the term they are applying
• Waiver Option D – If the student has taken the ACCUPLACER and received the minimum score requirement for PC’s English Composition 113
• Waiver Option E – If the student is a citizen from one of the following countries AND their primary language is English: Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize,  British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cook Islands, Dominica, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana,  Ireland, Jamaica, Kiribati, Liberia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Montserrat, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Singapore, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), Zambia, or Zimbabwe (provide proof of citizenship to have waiver applied)
• Wavier Option F – If the student was schooled outside the United States at a school where the language of instruction was English (student must provide an official letter from the school stating English was the language of instruction while they attended)
• Waiver Option G – If none of the above waivers apply, and the student was unable to take the ACT, SAT, TOEFL, IELTS, or Pearson PTE Academic due to temporary test restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a committee will speak with the student on the phone and ask a series of questions, gathering English Proficiency skills based on a phone interview.

A $100 tuition deposit is required prior to registration for classes. The deposit is non-refundable.

Application Fee Waivers

This option is available for any student applying to Presentation College that has their $25 application fee waived. Fee waiver codes may be given to students and used for the purposes of student recruitment at the discretion of the Director of Admissions.

Up one level

• Quick Takes

Presentation College Will Close

By  Scott Jaschik

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Presentation College, a small Roman Catholic institution in South Dakota, will close at the end of the summer 2023 term.

“After careful evaluation of the sustainability of the college’s academic programs, and a thorough review of alternatives, the Board of Trustees and Presentation Sisters reluctantly decided to close the physical campus and implement teach-out programs as the most responsible way to steward students’ pathways to completing their degrees,” Sister Mary Thomas, president of the Presentation Sisters Corporate Board, said. “We understand and share the heartbreak by our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Aberdeen community, and we will work closely with them to succeed through this transition.”

The Presentation Sisters founded the college in 1951 to fulfill their mission of rural health care and service through nursing education. The college later expanded to include academic programs in health and natural sciences and social science and humanities. The Presentation Sisters have continuously sponsored the college and retained ownership of the campus land, with the college as a separate nonprofit.

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the college embarked on a yearlong process of examining data and market impacts and its potential for growing enrollment to achieve sustainability. The college’s rural location, difficult for many out-of-state students to access, was already a known factor, along with a significant dependency on tuition revenue and gifts. The impact of COVID-19 exacerbated the college’s challenges, the college said in an announcement .

For students who are unable to graduate this year, the college has teach-out agreements with the University of Mary (Bismarck, N.D.) and Olivet College (Olivet, Mich.) and continues to pursue additional agreements.

Two other small private colleges, Cazenovia College in New York and Holy Names University in California, announced that they would close in December.

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Presentation College Admissions

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Presentation College has an acceptance rate of 99%, but the admissions bar isn't overly high so the school will be easily accessible to those applying with high grades and strong standardized test scores. An application can be filled out online on the school's website. As part of the application, students will also need to submit scores from the SAT or ACT, and official high school transcripts. If you have any questions about the admissions process, be sure to get in touch with a counselor in the admissions office. Also, check out Presentation's website for more information about applying, including complete guidelines/instructions, and important dates and deadlines.

Admissions Data (2016)

• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 99%
• SAT Critical Reading: 400 / 493
• SAT Math: 420 / 530
• What these SAT numbers mean
• ACT Composite: 18 / 22
• ACT English: 16 / 21
• What these ACT numbers mean

Presentation College Description

Presentation College, located in Aberdeen, South Dakota, was founded in 1951. It was founded by the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and retains its Catholic traditions today. The school focuses on medical and science-based programs, with over 15 Bachelor programs to choose from, and many more at the Associate's Degree level. Popular choices include Nursing, Biology, Social Work, and Business Management.

Academics are supported by a healthy 10 to 1 student/faculty ratio. Outside of the classroom, students can participate in a number of student-run groups and activities. These range from the academic to the social and artistic, including musical groups, faith-based meetings and projects, and student government. On the athletic front, the Presentation College Saints compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA); popular sports include basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, and golf. 

Enrollment (2016)

• Total Enrollment: 821 (all undergraduate)
• Gender Breakdown: 36% Male / 64% Female
• 65% Full-time

Costs (2016 - 17)

• Tuition and Fees: $19,090
• Books: $1,200 ( why so much? )
• Room and Board: $8,690
• Other Expenses: $2,700
• Total Cost: $31,680

Presentation College Financial Aid (2015 - 16)

• Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 100%
• Grants: 100%
• Grants: $10,732
• Loans: $8,310

Academic Programs

• Most Popular Majors:  Nursing, Business, Social Work, Radiologic Technology, Biology

Transfer, Graduation and Retention Rates

• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 59%
• 4-Year Graduation Rate: 37%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 44%

Intercollegiate Athletic Programs

• Men's Sports:  Football, Soccer, Golf, Basketball, Baseball
• Women's Sports:  Volleyball, Soccer, Softball, Golf, Basketball

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Presentation College Mission Statement

Welcoming people of all faiths, Presentation College challenges learners toward academic excellence and, in the Catholic tradition, the development of the whole person.

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Presentation College

Cost & scholarships.

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Your chances

Acceptance rate, acceptance rate breakdown, applicant breakdown.

Published costs and averages can be misleading: they don’t fully account for your family’s finances (for financial aid) or your academic profile (for scholarships).

Want to see your personalized net cost after financial aid and scholarships?

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Presentation College closing Aberdeen campus

The 2022-23 calendar year will be the last year students will be able to enroll in classes at Presentation College's Aberdeen Campus.

According to an announcement posted on the Presentation College website, students will not be enrolled in the 2023-24 academic year and operations at the Aberdeen campus will cease after the spring and summer 2023 sessions.

Three Teach-Out Agreements with other higher educational institutions are in place, which provide complete credit acceptance and comparable net tuition costs for current students. These agreements are with St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa; University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.; and and Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan.

St. Ambrose University and Presentation also announced plans last week to offer as an online program, Presentation's Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, a pathway for nursing students. This online program will become the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing at St. Ambrose in honor of Nano Nagle who founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen.

Presentation employees will have staggered end dates

According to the release employees are being provided staggered end dates and final compensation based on their responsibilities.

Presentation Sisters founded the College in 1951 to fulfill its mission of rural health care and service through nursing education. The College later expanded to include academic programs in Health and Natural Sciences, and Social Science and Humanities, to support its mission of development of the whole person, in the Catholic tradition. Presentation Sisters have continuously sponsored the College and retained ownership of the campus land with the College as a separate nonprofit.

More: Presentation College announces new re-envisioning plan with focus on rural health care

"After careful evaluation of the sustainability of the College’s academic programs, and a thorough review of alternatives, the Board of Trustees and Presentation Sisters reluctantly decided to close the physical campus and implement Teach-Out programs as the most responsible way to steward students’ pathways to completing their degrees,” Sister Mary Thomas, president of the Presentation Sisters Corporate Board said in the news release. “We understand and share the heartbreak by our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Aberdeen community, and we will work closely with them to succeed through this transition.”  

Presentation is hosting a Teach-Out/career fair Jan. 30-31 to assist students and faculty with their transitions to other institutions, according to the release. Presentation is also bringing independent academic coaches from College Possible to campus to assist students with their individual plans. A job fair will also be organized later this spring to help staff explore future employment opportunities.

Discussion about the campus' future started before the COVID pandemic

Just before the COVID pandemic in 2020, the College, the Board of Trustees, and the Corporate Board of the Presentation Sisters embarked on a year-long process of examining data and market impacts, engaging constituent groups to better understand the financial health of the College and its potential for growing enrollment to achieve sustainability. Its rural location, difficult for many out-of-state students to access, was already a known factor, along with a significant dependency on tuition revenue and gifts. The impact of COVID exacerbated the College’s challenges. 

“The College explored and brought to the boards numerous partnership options over the last year, resulting in their selection of St. Ambrose University for continuing the Online BSN programs,” said Paula Langteau, president of Presentation College in the release.

Presentation's nursing program is going online

Last week Presentation and St. Ambrose. University announced the creation of the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing.

More: Presentation, St. Ambrose University sign agreement to enhance online nursing education

“As previously announced, St. Ambrose University’s state-of-the-art nursing program is a natural fit with Presentation to create the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing, ensuring the legacies of the College and the Presentation Sisters,” Langteau said in the release. “SAU also will serve as one of a number of Teach-Out Partners for other majors. It is important to us that every student has multiple, comparable options to complete their chosen degrees on time and without an increased financial investment.”

How will the teach-out partnerships work

According to information on the Presentation College website, the teach-out agreements guarantee admission to St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa; University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.; and and Olivet College in Olivet, Mich.

Students are also guaranteed tuition that is equal to or less than Presentation and students are guaranteed to complete the programs at the same time they would have completed them at Presentation.

Olivet College has a D-III athletic program and is part of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. University of Mary has a D-II athletic program and is part of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. St. Ambrose University is part of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Notes from a South Dakota Ex-Pat

Presentation College Closing This Summer

72 years after the Presentation Sisters founded Presentation College to train nurses for rural health care, Presentation College in Aberdeen will close after this summer’s academic term. Here’s the College’s announcement:

Presentation College announced today that it will not enroll students for the 2023-24 academic year and will cease educational operations at its Aberdeen campus after the Spring and Summer 2023 sessions. Three Teach-Out Agreements with other higher educational institutions are in place to provide complete credit acceptance and comparable net tuition costs for current students. Employees will be provided staggered end dates and final compensation based upon their responsibilities. St. Ambrose University (Davenport, Iowa) will continue to offer Presentation’s signature Online BSN program, a pathway for nursing students established through a consortial arrangement that was communicated last week. The Online BSN programs will become the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing at St. Ambrose University in honor of Nano Nagle who founded the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen, South Dakota (Presentation Sisters) in Ireland in 1775. “After careful evaluation of the sustainability of the College’s academic programs, and a thorough review of alternatives, the Board of Trustees and Presentation Sisters reluctantly decided to close the physical campus and implement Teach-Out programs as the most responsible way to steward students’ pathways to completing their degrees,” Sister Mary Thomas, president of the Presentation Sisters Corporate Board shared. “We understand and share the heartbreak by our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Aberdeen community, and we will work closely with them to succeed through this transition.” Presentation Sisters founded the College in 1951 to fulfill its mission of rural health care and service through nursing education. The College later expanded to include academic programs in Health and Natural Sciences, and Social Science and Humanities, to support its mission of development of the whole person, in the Catholic tradition. Presentation Sisters have continuously sponsored the College and retained ownership of the campus land with the College as a separate nonprofit. Just before the COVID pandemic, the College, the Board of Trustees, and the Corporate Board of the Presentation Sisters embarked on a year-long process of examining data and market impacts, engaging constituent groups to better understand the financial health of the College and its potential for growing enrollment to achieve sustainability. Its rural location, difficult for many out-of-state students to access, was already a known factor, along with a significant dependency on tuition revenue and gifts. The impact of COVID exacerbated the College’s challenges. “The College explored and brought to the boards numerous partnership options over the last year, resulting in their selection of St. Ambrose University (SAU) for continuing the Online BSN programs,” said Paula Langteau, president of Presentation College. “As previously announced, St. Ambrose University’s state-of-the-art nursing program is a natural fit with Presentation to create the Nano Nagle Online School of Nursing, ensuring the legacies of the College and the Presentation Sisters,” President Paula Langteau said. “SAU also will serve as one of a number of Teach-Out Partners for other majors. It is important to us that every student has multiple, comparable options to complete their chosen degrees on time and without an increased financial investment.” Presentation also has Teach-Out Agreements in place with the University of Mary (Bismarck, North Dakota) and Olivet College (Olivet, Michigan) and continues to pursue adding agreements with other regional and online institutions. January 30-31, the College is hosting a Teach-Out Fair (in the afternoons) and a Career Fair (in the mornings) to assist students and faculty, respectively, with their transitions to other higher educational institutions. In a unique partnership for college transitions, the College is also bringing independent academic coaches from College Possible to campus to assist students with their individual plans. A Job Fair will be organized for later this Spring to help staff to explore future employment opportunities [Presentation College, announcement of closure , 2023.01.17].

Spring semester courses at Presentation started last week on Monday, January 9 . The college will maintain its full schedule of spring courses; it will offer only practical nursing certificate courses this summer. The college says it will fully refund students who choose to withdraw this semester .

St. Ambrose University will become the keeper of Presentation College’s transcripts and other records. The college says it is not filing for bankruptcy and should be able to carry out its existing contracts through August 31.

Presentation College’s closure is part of a long nationwide trend of campus closures. United States college and university closures spiked in 2016; over 860 higher-education campuses have closed since 2004 , largely due to a shrinking student pool . According to IPEDS , Presentation College’s full-time-equivalent enrollment in Academic year 2021 was 527; in 2017, PC FTEs reached a decade-peak at 752.

The Presentation Sisters left their convent in 2021 and moved to two assisted-living facilities in Aberdeen and Sioux Falls. The closure of Presentation College will leave the 100-acre campus on the northwest corner of town vacant and open to new development proposals. Expect a lot of money-people and idea people to be contacting the Sisters and the College trustees to float their ideas for converting the Presentation campus into Aberdeen’s Next Big Thing.

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Published in South Dakota

• Presentation College

21 Comments

Another nail in the coffin of healthcare for the citizens of SD. It will not be long before healthcare will only be available to those who can travel great distances to see even a mid-level provider.

For decades to pay lawsuits and hush money to the victims of pederastic clergy the Roman Church has been bleeding the assets and financial resources of the Presentation, Benedictine and the other ten orders of nuns in the United States forcing many elderly women into nursing homes at taxpayer expense. That’s it’s criminal is to say the very least.

Another measure of the dire labor shortage in the US is the closing of over 860 higher education schools since 2004. The US is short 400,000 workers (SD is short over 30,000 workers). The annual labor shortage will climb to about or over 900,000 annually in 15 years until peaking. Wage inflation is built into the system.

Noem’s and republican answers are to: 1) close the borders stopping immigration and exacerbating wage inflation, and 2) forcing seniors to work by cutting social security and medicare. The US will NOT receive immigrants from western or even eastern Europe because those nations have far better social safety nets and also have populations in decline. US immigrants MUST come largely from Central and South America and Africa – where the birthrate is over the replacement birthrate. Bloomberg and the financial press recently “woke up” to the fact that China’s population is fast declining. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MSV2bh48MA

I think that the campus, or at least part of the facilities at Presentation College should be converted to the Fred Deutsch Aberdeen Medical Cannabis dispensary. Maybe the Sisters should have kept the money that they used to help buy 20,000 votes to defeat IM27. Karma is a bitch.

Strange situation since nurses are in high demand and low availability. What gives?

For the record, The Presentation Sisters Are Not To Be Confused With The Pointer Sisters.

Your state needs a computer chip factory. America needs lots and lots of them.

Well…I consider it a blow to Aberdeen and to the state generally. The Benedictines and Presentation Sisters have contributed greatly to health care and our quality of life in South Dakota. Historically, in South Dakota, communities depended on the Presentation Sisters and Benedictines to establish hospitals and train medical personnel. It appears that time is now past but the quality of their replacements in the industry is in doubt.

Might this become a regional jail for the County of Brown and its neighbors?

Maybe it should become a boot camp for those whose BMI is over 27.

Maybe a Soylent Green processing center for grudz and his “Connie Commoners with No Sense” group.

A state-owned resort catering to elderly fellows who enjoy all you can eat breakfast buffets! Only that Aberdeen is a hole nobody wants to visit. So the prison idea is probably best.

To Serve Man.

Laudate Pueri Dominum

To Serve Mann

The point about health care and nurse supply is worth considering. We are short on nurses, as we are of many other important professionals. One would think that the need for nurses would have kept Presentation College’s nursing program viable. But perhaps PC struggled to sustain its nursing program for the same reasons South Dakota struggles to recruit nurses: not enough students wanted to study in a relatively remote area, and not enough faculty wanted to work for the lower wages at PC when they could make much more working elsewhere.

Of course, in this case, you’d think the wage issue would have solved itself: high demand for nurses should have led to high demand for nurse training programs which should have led to lots of tuition-paying students which should have led to good salaries for instructors.

PC was competing with SDSU for nursing students, and that doesn’t seem a fair fight, but again, if SDSU isn’t completely meeting the market demand for nurses, you’d think there’d be room for a competitive nursing program elsewhere in the state.

Get a free Harvard education. Google “Harvard CS50”. For a free exciting Intro to Computer Science class, with several other follow up classes.

Presentation College closing is a big thing.

The Republican Legislature has tightened up on college regulation. Check Secretary of State website for details.

Hey with a free Harvard Computer Science class or two under your belt, adjust your t shirt and you can swagger anyplace in South Dakota and say, “Hey man, I can code and do very cool things on the Web. What shall I change next?” You can be the hero in your adventure!

As to Aberdeen, hey, private colleges have closed before, Yankton College was a big one. With men attending college less than they did in the 1970s, online web colleges and learning programs are starting to take over.

To pump up Aberdeen in general, start a for profit or social business (M. Yunus, Nobel Prize Winner) and as you grow your business, set up shop in Aberdeen, add 5 or 10 employees there. Yes!

Hey, I’ll post this now. A little guide on how to set up Free your own Legislature.

1. Pick a name. Something cool, like Bison Legislature, Ft. Pierre Friendly Legislature, or whatever up you like.

2. As a Private Legislature, you have no elections, fundraising to do. No laws to pass, no taxes to levy. You can have 1 Member, you, or any number of people join. Your Legislature can do unlimited good.

3. Easy way to run it. Use a checking account. Maybe post your results online. Here’s the name of my Legislature, how many members, no elections. We have $20 in our account, we gave so much money to these charities or great causes.

4. Choose one or more projects that you and your Legislature will do. Post updates to the success of your project(s)!

5. A major factor of your Legislature’s success. It will be since you are giving 10% to 100% of your Legislature’s cash (from a bank account or in your cash kitty like an empty milk carton) to nonprofit causes, Increase will happen! Tithing or giving a percentage of your Legislature’s money to nonprofit causes will invariably bring Lots more money to your Legislature, hey you can buy a town in West River maybe ! (Most of Interior was sold to a church in the Philippines a while back). With a prospering Legislature, you could pay yourselves a modest salary and keep doing unlimited good ! (Read Charles Fillmore’s great book, Prosperity.)

That’s very cool! 5 easy rules and you can have your own private Legislature making life better today!

1. Name. 2. Number of members. 3. Checking account or cash kitty. 4. Project(s). 5. Donate 10% plus (or tithe)

Your Legislature can post it’s great results on Twitter, Facebook Groups, Blogger or any blog, Mailchimp.com or any free web page building site, Instagram.

You don’t have to wait until November 2024.

You can create your own Legislature today!

According to this article…. https://www.usa.edu/blog/nursing-shortage/ .South Duhkota has the 7th largest shortage of nurses in the Nation.

Converting PC into assisted living apartments for low income Seniors would be an option.

The Order of the Presentation opened St. Mary’s in Elkton where I attended grade school but the nuns were from the Dominican and Benedictine Orders, too. They were Commies who taught us Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie and Puff the Magic Dragon.

Comments are closed.

Long-term issues to close doors at Presentation College

Presentation is offering ‘teach-out’ agreements with other institutions to accept current students without needing an application or increase in tuition costs.

This comes as the Aberdeen college prepares to permanent close its doors later this year.

College president Paula Langteau said it’s part of administration’s effort to put people first through the transition.

“We take very seriously our commitment to our students, our faculty, and our staff, and we’re doing everything in our power to make sure we take care of individuals through this difficult and trying transition,” Langteau said.

Langteau, who arrived at Presentation in 2019, said the closure is the result of longstanding financial and enrollment issues.

“We streamlined leadership, renegotiated vendor contracts, reduced operating budgets, really brought down our budgets to about two and a half million dollars – and things were starting to look better, our accounts payable was up to date. Things were turning around," Langteau said. "At that time, as you know, COVID hit. That was the spring of 2020. That has been devastating for our institution.”

Langteau said the Presentation Sisters are now looking ahead to the future.

“While we mourn the loss of all the things that are no longer going to be, we also recognize – I think sister Marion said it best when she said the Presentation Sisters pride themselves that they evolve with the times, and we are moving to see more online education,” Langteau said.

Currently, Presentation College students can enroll through teach-outs at Dakota Wesleyan, Dickinson State, Olivet College, St. Ambrose University, and the University of Mary.

Presentation College to close campus after summer session

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Presentation College announced Tuesday that it will not enroll students for the 2023-24 academic year and will cease educational operations at its Aberdeen campus after the spring and summer 2023 sessions.

According to Presentation College, the school’s online BSN programs will be offered by St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa. All other academic programs will end after the spring and summer sessions in 2023.

“After careful evaluation of the sustainability of the College’s academic programs, and a thorough review of alternatives, the Board of Trustees and Presentation Sisters reluctantly decided to close the physical campus and implement Teach-Out programs as the most responsible way to steward students’ pathways to completing their degrees,” said Sister Mary Thomas, president of the Presentation Sisters Corporate Board. “We understand and share the heartbreak by our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and Aberdeen community, and we will work closely with them to succeed through this transition.”

Just before the COVID-19 pandemic, college leaders began a year-long process of examining data to better understand the school’s financial health and potential for growing enrollment. Its rural location and “significant dependency” on tuition revenue and gifts were major contributing factors in the decision to cease operation. COVID’s impact added to the school’s challenges.

Presentation College has teach-out agreements in place with the University of Mary in Bismarck and Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan, and “continues to pursue adding agreements with other regional and online institutions.” The college is hosting fairs January 30 and 31 to help students and faculty with their transitions to other higher educational institutions. The school will also bring College Possible coaches to campus to assist students with their individual plans.

Copyright 2023 KSFY. All rights reserved.

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