2017 Legislative Update – Week 6
2017-2018 Budget The Executive Appropriations Committee approved its first round of funding items on Friday. For higher education, initial items include: Compensation: 2% labor market adjustment increase (plus funding for health insurance rate increases), with the ratio of funding at 75% from state funds and 25% of tuition funds. Student Enrollment Growth: $3.5 million ongoing for […]
Higher ed in Utah is efficient, innovative and collaborative
*This op-ed from Commissioner David Buhler ran in the Deseret News on Sunday, February 26, 2017. In response to the recent editorial in the Deseret News, Utahns can be pleased that our eight public colleges and universities are the envy of the nation when it comes to scalable collaboration, innovation, and efficiency. Part of what […]
2017 Legislative Update – Week 5
2017-2018 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. Legislation of Interest HB 100, Institutions of Higher Education Disclosure Requirements […]
2017 Legislative Update – Week 3
Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee The Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee met for its final scheduled hearing this week, focusing on the Board of Regents’ budget priorities for USHE. The committee also considered other budget requests. Understandably, the top priority of the subcommittee is to restore the 2% across-the-board budget cut. The subcommittee also voted to hold […]
2017 Legislative Update – Week 2
The Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee The subcommittee met twice this week, hearing from seven of the eight USHE presidents. Each president advocated the Board of Regents’ unified budget priorities, highlighted notable accomplishments and provided compelling arguments of the critical need for increased state funding at their institutions. The subcommittee, as directed by the Executive Appropriations […]
One year in: Progress report on the Board of Regents’ 10-year strategic plan for higher ed
As Utah’s public institutions enroll the vast majority of Utah high school graduates, the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) is the primary workforce pipeline in the state. USHE’s ability to encourage students to participate in higher education and graduate with a meaningful credential is key to Utah’s prosperity. But over the next ten years, […]
Board of Regents FY18 budget priorities focus on strategic objectives, outcomes
The 2025 Strategic Plan of the Board of Regents, adopted in January 2016, projects USHE institutions need a combined annual average budget increase of 5% to fund new enrollment growth, student support, compensation, operation and maintenance of facilities, program development, and information technology needs. Over the past two years (FY 2016, 2017), the USHE operating budget […]
2015-16 USHE graduates will earn almost $400 million in increased wages this year
Higher education is not only a primary engine for the state’s economy, it is one of the most solid options to guarantee a higher individual income. In Utah, the 2016 USHE graduates will earn a combined increase of over $400 million in wages their first year in the workforce—an average of over $13,000 more per […]
Tuition & fees at Utah’s public institutions remain among lowest in the country
The College Board released its annual Trends in College Pricing Report that provides trend analysis on tuition and higher education financing. The report compares 2016-17 tuition and fees by state. Utah has consistently ranked among the top states with the lowest tuition for 4-year public institutions. In addition to having the lowest average student debt […]
Gift aid a significant factor in assisting students towards degree completion
Scholarships and grants play a significant role in how students pay for college. 54% of USHE students who enrolled in both fall and spring semesters in 2014-15 received some form of gift aid, averaging $4,070.23 per student—roughly 75% of the average tuition and fees at institutions in the Utah System of Higher Education. “Gift aid” is funds […]
