Academics and Financial Aid
Southeast Technical College is committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming experience by providing services and supports that ensure students can access and participate in all the activities, programs and services.
How to apply for Federal Financial Aid at Southeast Technical College.
Southeast Technical College is accreditated by the Higher Learning Commission and many academic programs maintain specialized accrediations.
Due to Section 487 of the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, Southeast Tech has implemented a Code of Conduct to participate in the Title IV program. Southeast Tech prohibits conflicts of interest for its financial aid personnel. Southeast Tech’s officers and all other employees are required to comply with the Code of Conduct listed below:
Neither Southeast Tech as an institute nor any individual officer or employee shall enter into any revenue-sharing arrangements with any lender.
No officer or employee of Southeast Tech who is employed in the Financial Aid Office or who otherwise has responsibilities with respect to education loans, or representatives of lenders, or any of their family members, shall solicit or accept any gift from a lender, guarantor or servicer of education loans. The term “gift” means any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan or other items with monetary value.
No officer or employee of Southeast Tech who is employed in the Financial Aid Office or who has responsibilities with respect to educations loans or representative of lenders or affiliate, shall accept any fee, payment, or other financial benefit, including the opportunity to purchase stock, as compensation for any type of consulting arrangement or other contract to provide services to a lender or on behalf of a lender relating to education loans.
Southeast Tech shall not:
- assign, through award packaging or other methods, the borrower’s loan to a particular lender, or
- refuse to certify, or delay certification of any loan based on a borrower’s selection of a particular lender or guarantee agency.
Southeast Tech shall not request or accept from any lender or lender representative, any offer of funds to be used for private education loans to students in exchange for the institution providing concessions or promises providing lenders with any of the following:
- a specified number of loans made, insured, or guaranteed under Title IV;
- a specified loan volume;
- a preferred lender arrangement for such loans.
Southeast Tech shall not request or accept from any lender or lender representative, any assistance with call center staffing or financial aid staffing.
Any employee who is employed in the Financial Aid Office, or who has responsibilities with respect to education loans or other student financial aid, and who serves on an advisory board, commission, or group established by a lender, guarantor, or group of lenders or guarantors, shall be prohibited from receiving anything of value from lender, guarantor, or a group of lenders or guarantors, except the employee may be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in serving on advisory board, commission or group.
| Graduation Rates (Cohorts from 3 Years Prior) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| 150% of Normal Time | 45% | 59% | 52% | 55% | 57% | 58% |
| Transfer-Out | 7% | 7% | 8% | 11% | 9% | 8% |
The overall graduation rate is also known as the “Student Right to Know” or IPEDS graduation rate. It tracks the progress of students who began their studies as full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking students to determine if the degree or certificate is completed within 150% of the normal time that is expected for program completion. Not all students at Southeast Tech are included in these rates. Students who have transferred to Southeast Tech from another postsecondary institution as well as those who began as part-time students are not included in these rates. At Southeast Tech, 41% of entering students were counted as “full-time, first-time” in 2022.
GRADUATION RATES DISAGGREGATED BY RACE/ETHNICITY OR GENDER
Graduation Rates Disaggregated by Pell Recipient Status
| Retention Rates | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2016 | Fall 2017 | Fall 2018 | Fall 2019 | Fall 2020 | Fall 2021 | |
| Full-time | 64% | 72% | 73% | 66% | 66% | 72% |
| Part-time | 45% | 66% | 59% | 56% | 66% | 67% |
The above table represents the first to second year retention rates of first-time degree-seeking students as calculated by IPEDS.
Southeast Technical College's mission is to educate for employment; therefore, graduate placement is key to successfully meeting our mission. Southeast Tech has a strong history of meeting that mission, and it continues to be a strength as shown in the following results.*
For 2022-2023 graduates, STC’s graduate placement was:
- 98.4% employed or continuing education
- 86% of graduates were employed in South Dakota
- 84% of graduates were employed in field in South Dakota
The survey response rate for these graduates was 99%. For information regarding job placement rates by program, please contact one of our Admissions Representatives.
*Placement data is gathered through graduate surveys, faculty-collected data, and phone surveys started after six months of graduation. Employment/Continuing Education rate is figured by: (graduates employed or continuing education)/(responding graduates who are seeking employment and are not in military service).
Graduates of many academic programs at Southeast Technical College are required to meet licensure requirements for their state before beginning a career in their field of study.
Southeast Technical College offers students a free, online tool that will generate estimates of the cost of attendance at Southeast Tech – including tuition, fees, books and supplies, room and board and other related expenses — as well the amount of financial aid grants or scholarships you may receive.
Academic programs at Southeast Technical College require a laptop computer.
Information on required textbooks, uniforms and classroom supplies is supplied by the Southeast Technical College bookstore.
Southeast Technical College has articulation agreements with some of the top four-year institutions in the region, providing students with a high-quality, cost-effective pathway to a bachelor’s degree.