Math and graduation: high school math & first year of college critical to completion
A significant predictor of college success is when students meet the general education math requirement by the end of their first year of college, even when remediation is required.
New study projects ROI for public colleges will surpass private colleges by 24% in 2025
The latest report from Payscale.com compares the projected return on investment (ROI) of a college education from public versus private colleges. While a degree from both types of institutions provides an ROI greater than just a high school diploma, the gap between the ROI of a public institution and a private one continues to grow. Payscale […]
Gift aid a significant factor in making college more affordable
In order to better understand how Utah students are paying for college, a new analysis by the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) looks at the gift aid received by in-state, undergraduate students during the 2014 academic year. “Gift aid” is defined as funding for students that does not need to be repaid, such as scholarships and grants. […]
Compared with nation, Utah has high rate of nontraditional students
Nationally, ‘traditional’ college students are on the rise. A recent report by the Urban Wire Institute discussed how, on a national scale, traditional college students (those 24 years old and under, and enrolled full-time) are actually a large percentage of the college population, and that percentage has risen in the past few years. The Institute […]
How often do students transfer institutions before college graduation?
Approximately half of USHE students attend more than one institution before graduation. (This does not include students taking Concurrent Enrollment courses in high school.) USHE students attend more than one institution at a higher rate than the national average of 32%. < Transfer from 2-year to 4-year institutions For students who transfer after completing a two-year degree, […]
Enrollment at USHE institutions expected to grow to over 226,000 students by 2024
Over 50,000 students are expected to be added to Utah’s college and university campuses over the next ten years, according to enrollment projections approved last week by the Utah State Board of Regents. The total headcount in the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is expected to grow from 174,010 students in Fall 2014 to 226,251 […]
Increased demand for college-educated workforce highlighted in new report on the changing U.S. economy
A common, rather pessimistic argument on the state of today’s economy is that it puts more and more college-educated, skilled workers into dead-end service jobs for which they are overqualified. This simply isn’t true. The shift in America’s workforce has not been from factories to fast-food outlets. Rather, employment growth has come in offices and […]
New report compares state by state spending on higher education
A new report by the State Higher Education Executive Officers association (SHEEO) indicates state funding support for higher education has increased in recent years nationally. However, when adjusted for inflation, spending on higher education is still below pre-recession levels. For the first time in years, public colleges’ reliance on tuition revenue dipped slightly — nationally […]
Do concurrent enrollment courses impact college participation and completion?
Approximately ⅓ of Utah high school juniors and seniors participated in concurrent enrollment during the 2013-14 school year – wherein students earn both high school credit for graduation and college credit corresponding to the first year of college. 95% of the college credit awarded last year was in general education courses and select technical education […]
Faculty and staff salaries at Utah’s public colleges are consistently below national peers
It is well-known that the academic labor market is a national market, and candidates are willing and able to move across the country for an open position. Unfortunately, salaries for faculty and staff at institutions in the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) are significantly less than those at peer institutions across the country. Not only does this […]
