In 2001, the Utah legislature approved a bill to establish Enhancements to the State Systems of Public and Higher Education (SB61) within the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE). The bill was created with the goal to increase the number of students graduating from engineering, computer science, and related technology programs. In order to track progress annually, the legislation created the Technology Initiative Advisory Board (TIAB) whose members were appointed by the Governor.

Each year, the TIAB makes an annual report to the Board of Regents on the progress of USHE institutions in meeting provisions relating to graduation rates, funding, the creation of scholarships and programs, and more in engineering, computer science, and related technology programs. They also make recommendations to the Regents in their administration of the initiative.

Highlights of the 2018 report

• During the last 17 years, the Engineering and Computer Technology Initiative has been successful in increasing the number of graduates in targeted areas.
• During FY18, 1,730 engineering degrees were awarded compared to 862 in 2000, and in computer science, 1,553 degrees were awarded compared to 513 in 2000.
• Since the initiative began, a total of 38,911 engineering and computer science degrees have been awarded.
• Total engineering and computer science degrees awarded in FY18 was 3,283 compared to 2,938 in FY16, representing an increase of 11.74% over the base year.
• To date, $19 million of ongoing funding plus $10.45 million of one-time funding have been appropriated to the initiative since it was introduced in 2001.