VERMILLION, S.D. (WNAX) – A group studying the state’s higher education system met at USD in Vermillion Thursday.

The SB55 Task Force was approved by this year’s legislature to examine the Regents system and come up with recommendations.

Funding was a topic and former USD President Jim Abbott says they have done pretty well on a slim budget.

Abbott told the task force when he was a student at the University in the 1960s, the state paid the bulk of the costs.

Abbott says it is a critical time for the universities.

The task force schedule calls for a final report by next November.