By-laws, Constitution, Charter

Through the latter half of the 20th century, there have been attempts to unionize faculty at South Dakota State University and across South Dakota. Short-lived attempts by the American Association of University Professors and the South Dakota Higher Education Faculty Association ultimately failed, although they did lay the groundwork for the eventual success of the Council of Higher Education.

In 1978, the Board of Regents officially recognized the Council of Higher Education.

The Council of Higher Education (COHE) is the exclusive representative of the collective bargaining unit for the purpose of collective bargaining in respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, grievance procedures and other conditions of employment. The bargaining unit includes full-time and regular part-time instructional-research faculty in college and universities, the Agricultural Experiment Station, Cooperative Extension Service, Auxiliary Services, the South Dakota School for the Visually Handicapped and the South Dakota School for the Deaf. These faculty may not be supervisors. The unit does not include the Medical School, the Law School, or the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences.

The unit excludes deans, directors, department chairpersons, department heads, principals, superintendents, program managers, and others who are supervisory and managerial, and also emeritus faculty; teaching and research assistants, clinical faculty; county agents, county home economists and ROTC personnel.