This planning document for South Dakota's public universities emphasizes that the primary mission of the state's colleges and universities is to utilize available resources to provide an environment that supports students in their intellectual, cultural, and ethical development and affirms the State Board's commitment to diverse campus communities that include minorities, disabled, and part-time students. The document addresses assumptions held regarding the following: each university's mission; the state's commitment to higher education; governance; students; program content and quality; the size and make-up of faculty and staff; financial circumstances; cost and use of the institution's physical facilities; and intergovernmental relations. The report points out that the future directions for state public colleges are to ensure the quality of undergraduate and graduate education and improve programs, create an environment that cultivates intellect and character, encourage scholarly activity and pluralism, provide institutional accountability, foster collaborative relationships within the public university system, increase public appreciation of the system, seek adequate funding, provide competitive compensation for employees and maintain appropriate facilities, utilize advanced technology that maximizes the delivery of services and provide access to higher education opportunities. Finally, the document lists 28 benchmarks of achievement and presents the texts of three Senate concurrent resolutions and various mission statements. (Contains 25 references.) (CK)