Introducing the 2016-2017 Student Body Presidents

As the 2015-2016 academic year comes to an end, new Student Body Presidents have been elected at USHE’s colleges and universities. The Student Body Presidents, elected by their student peers, will serve during the 2016-17 academic year. The presidents, together, form the leadership for the statewide student association that advocates on behalf of students on […]
Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership announces availability of $3.5 million in 2016 grant funds
The Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership (UCAP) program provides funding to public colleges and universities, applied technology colleges, and K-12 school districts, charters and individual schools to develop, implement, or enhance educational programs in direct response to regional and statewide industry needs. UCAP is a partnership between the Utah System of Higher Education, the Governor’s Office of Economic […]
Bring a Friend to Finish: UHESA’s push to increase college completion in Utah
Last Friday, at the Board of Regents meeting at Dixie State University, the Utah Higher Education Staff Association (UHESA) presented their newly-launched initiative, Bring a Friend to Finish – Return, Learn and Earn (BFF). The goal of this initiative is to encourage the staff of Utah’s higher education institutions to reach out to friends in their respective […]
Board of Regents approves second-lowest tuition increase in 17 years

Continues trend of keeping average tuition increase as low as possible The Utah State Board of Regents approved an average system-wide tuition increase of 3.7% for the 2016-17 academic year—the second-lowest average increase since 1999—at their meeting today at Dixie State University. The increase is 3.5% at six of Utah’s eight higher education institutions. Commissioner […]
Newly-passed legislation will reduce administrative costs for online courses
HB 379, Interstate Reciprocity Agreement for Postsecondary Distance Education, sponsored by Rep. Val Peterson and Sen. Ann Millner, was passed during the 2016 Legislative Session. While the legislation itself didn’t receive much attention, it will significantly reduce the costs to administer those programs. The bill received unanimous support by both the House and Senate and […]
Utah State University Presidential Search Committee members announced

The Board of Regents Chair Daniel Campbell has named a 25-member committee to conduct a national search for the next president of Utah State University. Utah State University President Stan Albrecht announced his retirement February 3, 2016, and will remain in office until a new president of USU is named. Regent Teresa Theurer will chair […]
ACT Conference focuses on student access to higher education
Last week, Utah Valley University hosted the 2016 Utah ACT State Organization Conference. The conference strives to bring education and career readiness professionals a broad range of topics that meet the diverse needs of preparing students for college and career success. Attendees discussed key education strategies intended to foster positive change in schools throughout Utah, […]
Is a college degree still worth it? Yes, but challenges exist
Several reports and articles of the last few months have reinforced the long-standing axiom – a college education is one of the best long-term investments an individual can make. This is especially the case in Utah. According to Mark Knold, the Supervising Economist at the Utah Department of Workforce Services: “Attaining more education corresponds with […]
Efforts to increase FAFSA completion in Utah

Anyone attending college or planning to attend college should complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the only way to receive federal financial aid for college in forms of Pell Grants, work-study, federal student loans, and some scholarships. Utah continues to be last in the nation for percent of eligible […]
2016 Legislative Update – Week 7
The 2016 Legislature adjourned on March 10, 2016. News coverage summarizing the legislative session are available here, here, and here. The following is an unofficial summary of the 2016 Legislative Session related to the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE). A formal report will be provided by the Commissioner at the meeting of the Board of […]