SDSU’s respiratory care program receives two national honors

South Dakota State University’s respiratory care program has been recognized with two major awards from the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

The program’s East River locations, which include Brookings/Madison, Sioux Falls and Huron, received the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award, which recognizes programs demonstrating at least 90% registered respiratory therapist credentialing success, along with strong outcomes as well as exam and retention performance.

The program’s satellite site in Rapid City received the President’s Award for Excellence in Credentialing Success, an honor reserved for a select group of programs that meet rigorous criteria, including maintaining three or more years of outcomes data, holding accreditation without a progress report, documenting a 100% registered respiratory therapist credentialing success rate, and meeting or exceeding commission thresholds for Therapist Multiple-Choice Exam performance and retention.

“We are honored to receive these awards again this year; they are a true testament to the dedication and effort our faculty put in to ensuring our program is delivered at the highest standard and quality, while preparing our students to be adequately prepared to enter the workforce. They are also a reflection of the efforts of our students, who work incredibly hard to achieve these successes,” said Marissa Trosen, director of SDSU’s respiratory care program.

SDSU has earned the President’s Award in 2021, 2022, 2024 and 2025. Since 2011, the SDSU respiratory care program has received the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award eight times.  

“We have earned this recognition year after year now. This is truly a sign of excellence,” said Dan Hansen, dean of the College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, which houses the respiratory care program.

These accolades follow the recent achievement of provisional Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care accreditation for SDSU’s Bachelor of Science in respiratory care program. Together, these recognitions underscore the strength of SDSU’s respiratory care offerings.