North Dakota's Higher Education Boom

I've featured the booming, oil-rich North Dakota economy many times, some recent examples appear here, here, and here.  And now there's another economic success story for the state: a higher education boom is taking place at North Dakota's universities, with college students flocking to the Peace Garden state in ever greater numbers, according to this New York Times story titled "Frigid North Dakota Is a Hot Draw For Out-of-State College Students":

"Even as the number of North Dakota high school graduates fell below 7,400 in 2010 from 9,058 in 2000, enrollment at public colleges surged, climbing 38% in the decade ended in 2010, to 48,120. Leading that growth was a 56% jump in nonresident students. 

Out-of-state students account for about 55% of the 14,500 enrolled at North Dakota State University, as well as at similarly sized University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Nonresident students at North Dakota's 11 public colleges constitute a higher ratio than in almost every other state.

High school juniors and seniors scouring online college guides find North Dakota universities are inexpensive and well-regarded, with modest-sized classes typically taught by faculty members rather than adjuncts or graduate students."

HT: Catherine Rampell