North Dakota University System

06/02/2026

As I begin my first days as president of North Dakota State University, I’m proud to call myself a Bison. I’m honored to join a community that takes deep pride

05/29/2026

“My time at Mayville State was marked by faculty and staff who poured care and attention and belief into me before I believed in myself. This place felt small in the best of ways, and they made the world feel big in the best of ways.”

Listen to the rest of North Dakota State Board of Higher Education Member Michelle Kommer’s speech from Mayville State University's commencement ceremony. Kommer also is a Mayville alumnus. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Mayville State University. Her post-secondary education also includes a master’s degree in management from the University of Mary and a law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law.

05/28/2026

During the May 28 North Dakota State Board of Higher Education meeting, we learned more about open educational resources (OER), which are free or low-cost teaching and learning materials that are made to reduce textbooks costs and improve access for students.

In early April, more than 80 faculty, staff and students from across the North Dakota postsecondary institutions gathered at the North Dakota Heritage Center for a ND OER Conference. This year’s theme “Growing Access, Growing Opportunity” reflected ongoing commitment to remove barriers for students, support teaching and learning and strengthen collaboration across NDUS institutions.

In this video, attendees share their thoughts about the event and the importance of OER material adoption in classrooms of the future.

05/27/2026

Join us tomorrow, May 28, at 8:30 a.m. at the link for the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education's May meeting. https://ndus.edu/sbhe-overview/agendas-minutes-videos

05/27/2026

This is great!

05/26/2026

North Dakota’s colleges and universities are celebrating a major milestone this spring, with more than 7,500 students eligible to graduate across the North Dakota University System (NDUS) this spring semester. The spring 2026 graduating cohort includes more than 750 certificates, more than 1,800 associate degrees, more than 3,700 bachelor’s degrees, and more than 1,400 graduate-level degrees.

“North Dakota’s workforce needs continue to evolve, and our campuses are rising to meet tomorrow’s challenges,” NDUS Commissioner Brent Sanford said. “Congratulations to our graduates, who represent the next generation of skilled professionals and will strengthen our communities, industries and statewide competitiveness. This year’s graduating class reflects the state’s growing talent pipeline and the system’s continued focus on meeting North Dakota’s workforce needs.”

Read more at https://bit.ly/4uzVxpK

05/21/2026

It’s been exciting and moving to see the Class of 2026 reach the important milestone of college graduation over the past few weeks! We’ve been fortunate to have committed and dedicated members of our State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) attend and share remarks during commencement ceremonies across the university system. We’d like to share some of those speeches here over the next few days to showcase these words of wisdom and our most recent graduates. At Minot State University, SBHE Member Tim Mihalick honored the Class of 2026 and thanked faculty, staff and family members for their support to students during their academic journeys.

05/20/2026

Check out Prairie Public's latest edition of Main Street with University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost. He discusses UND’s recent successes, student life, tuition, AI, college athletics, campus safety and infrastructure and how the university is preparing students for a rapidly changing future.

University challenges, AI and student well-being with UND President Andy Armacost, plus Tom Isern reflects on Thom Tammaro’s prairie poetry collection “Aurora.”

05/18/2026

We love this Bison Spotlight on Lisa Montplaisir, who has served as the faculty advisor to the State Board of Higher Education for the past four years!

She has been an important voice for faculty during those years, representing the 11 NDUS institutions.

“There are board meetings every month, but there are also ongoing discussions on policies,” said Montplaisir. “So, if in the course of these discussions, we saw how conversations were going in a direction that wouldn’t be beneficial to faculty, we would ask for a pause. We’d go back to the 11 institutions, get their feedback and start a negotiation with the voting members of the board.

“In that way, faculty were able to have a solid voice with the board.”

Read more at

NDSU News May 12, 2026 Bison Spotlight: Lisa Montplaisir, biological sciences professor NDSU biological sciences professor Lisa Montplaisir balances a full slate of responsibilities. In addition to teaching biology classes, she also completed both her second term as Faculty Senate president and a fo...

05/15/2026