Student mental health on college campuses becoming a significant policy issue
The Utah Student Association has identified student mental health as its top priority for the past two years. More recently, student leaders at Utah State University voted to declare a mental health crisis at the university. According to a survey compiled by student leaders across the state, a college student in Utah, on average, has to […]
Utah joins national consortium to improve availability of online classes and programs
Utah has received formal approval to join a 43-state partnership that will help students more efficiently access online courses and programs. As online degree programs have rapidly grown in recent years, attracting students from different states, securing the authorization from other states for those students to enroll has become increasingly costly and administratively burdensome. Previously, colleges […]
Legislative committee meeting discusses student debt and higher ed costs
The Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee of the Utah Legislature met on Tuesday. Their discussions focused on the issues of student debt and increasing costs for higher education. The rising costs for students to enroll in college is a prominent topic nationally, and higher education institutions mistakenly shoulder the blame. However, a recent special report by […]
Board of Regents revises Performance Funding metrics
At the May 20 meeting, the Board of Regents adopted revised metrics to the performance, or outcomes-based, funding model, adopted in July 2015 as part of the legislature’s instruction via SB 232 passed in the 2015 Legislative Session. SB 232 requires the Board of Regents to maintain performance metrics in five specific areas: Degrees and certificates […]
Strategic Workforce Investment encourages “stackable” academic programs to meet regional workforce needs
SB 103, Strategic Workforce Investments initiative, sponsored by Sen. Ann Millner, creates an incentive program for Utah’s public colleges and universities to regionally expand educational capacity for workforce development in a high-need strategic cluster that prepares students for high-growth and high-wage occupations. This program received an initial $1.5 million in ongoing funds in the 2016 Legislative […]
USHE institutions among most efficient in the U.S., according to new report
The State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO) recently released its annual update on state higher education finance (interactive report here). This report provides a useful state-by-state comparison of funding of public higher education. Nationally, state and local appropriations to higher education increased, on average, 4.1% in 2016 from the prior year. The Utah Legislature appropriated […]
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 […]
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 […]
2016 Legislative Update – Week 5
2016-2017 Budget With revised revenue projections announced last week, significant budget decisions continue to loom before a final budget takes shape. There is still a lot of work on the budget as well as several bills that continue their march through the legislative process. Key Legislation *HB 182, Concurrent Enrollment Amendments by Rep. Val Peterson, […]
2016 Legislative Update – Week 4
Higher Education Day on the Hill Regents, Trustees, Presidents and student leaders gathered on Friday for the annual higher education luncheon in the Capitol Rotunda. Attended by over 75 legislators, including members of legislative leadership, it was a good opportunity to re-emphasize USHE’s budget and capital development priorities. The Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee The Higher […]
