Tuition and required fees will rise by 7.9 percent next year for the average in-state student at South Dakota's public universities.

The South Dakota Board of Regents has raised tuition and mandatory fees by 5.9 percent for the average resident undergraduate student to help cover the usual increases in operating costs.

An extra 2 percent increase is needed to help pay off bonds that will be used to upgrade science and laboratory facilities on all the campuses.

The average in-state undergraduate student will pay $6,295 in tuition and mandatory fees next year, up $463 from this year.