State Auditor publishes report on college prep and student success

The State Auditor’s Office released a report on the preparedness of college students as well as the success of students who attend USHE institutions. The report provides an independent analysis of the USHE data maintained by the Office of the Commissioner, which has been maintained since 1999 and provides foundational data for key reporting, including […]

Regents’ Scholarship award amounts announced, on-track letters being sent

Overview The Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) administers the Regents’ Scholarship, which encourages high school students to take a college-prep curriculum above and beyond the Utah high school graduation requirements. This merit-based scholarship is awarded to students who take the right courses during grades 9-12, earn the right grades, submit their ACT score, and […]

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 […]

Improving counselor training in college and career readiness

February 2-6 has been declared School Counseling Week in Utah. “School counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents, as these traits relate to career awareness and development,” said Governor Herbert in a declaration. The Governor’s timing of this declaration not only coincides with national events recognizing the role of […]

College prep: making high school count

Last month, the Khan Academy, one of the leading providers of free online education training and resources, launched a new College Admissions feature, along with new college-prep features that focus students on the specific content they need to be prepared for college math placement tests. The Khan Academy recommends courses in math, English/language arts, history/social […]

STEM interest and achievement among Utah’s 2014 high school grads

Last week, ACT published a report titled The Condition of STEM 2014, in which they analyzed data from 2014 high school graduates who took the ACT. In addition to looking at the achievement of College Readiness Benchmarks, ACT also took into account survey data on student interests that accompany the ACT test, to determine student attitudes and achievement […]

2015 Regents’ Scholarship applications now accepted

The Regents’ Scholarship Application for 2015 Utah high school graduates is now available. High school seniors who plan to graduate in 2015 are eligible to apply.  The Regents’ Scholarship was established to help junior high and high school students become “college-ready” by high school graduation.  The requirements for receiving the scholarship are beyond those required […]