Utah Board of Higher Education

Utah System of Higher Education

Thursday, November 30, 2023

 

Committee of the whole

Minutes

 

Board Members Present                                          Board Members Absent

Amanda Covington, Chair                                        Tina Marriott Larson

Steve Neeleman, Vice Chair

Javier Chávez, Jr.

Jon Cox

Sharon Eubank

Danny Ipson

Aaron Skonnard

Cydni Tetro

 

Office of the Commissioner

Geoff Landward, Interim Commissioner

Nate Talley, Deputy Commissioner and CFO

Alison Adams, General Counsel

Russ Galt, Senior Assistant Commissioner for Tech Education Finance

Carrie Mayne, Chief Economist

Loreen Olney, Administrative Assistant

Brian Shuppy, Senior Assistant Commissioner for Budget and Planning

Melissa Van Hien, Office Manager / Executive Assistant to the Commissioner

 

Institutional Presidents Present

Mindy Benson, Southern Utah University                                   Brad Mortensen, Weber State University

Darin Brush, Davis Technical College                                            Jordan Rushton, Dixie Technical College

Chad Campbell, Bridgerland Technical College                       Jim Taggart, Ogden-Weber Technical College

Elizabeth Cantwell, Utah State University                                   Astrid Tuminez, Utah Valley University

Clay Christensen, Mountainland Technical College               Aaron Weight, Uintah Basin Technical College

Paul Hacking, Tooele Technical College                                       Richard Williams, Utah Tech University

Deneece Huftalin, Salt Lake Community College                    Brennan Wood, Southwest Technical College

Stacee McIff, Snow College

 

Other Guests

John Dougall, Utah State Auditor

Japheth McGee, Zions Bank

Val Peterson, Vice President for Administration/Strategic Relations, Utah Valley University

Wayne Vaught, Provost/Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Utah Valley University

 

 

Chair Covington called the meeting to order at 5:37 p.m.

 

 

Committee of the Whole

 

Presentation & Discussion of Institution Tuition and Fees Analysis

 

Nate Talley presented a review of the tuition and fee-setting process. Interim Commissioner Landward shared the history around the tuition setting process with the merging of the system. He further explained the process the Commissioner’s office is taking to train trustees and vet materials received from institutions before the requests are presented to the Board. Board Member Ipson motioned to approve and direct the Commissioner to distribute the 2024-25 Institutional Board of Trustees Tuition & Fee Setting Guidance, with an emphasis on fiscal prudence. Board member Cox seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Policy R522 Amendments

 

Nate Talley presented the agenda materials as outlined and reviewed the proposed amendments. Based on a discussion in the Council of Presidents, the current November 29 deadline to submit annual goals could put some pressure on institutions in case we don’t have a consensus on what the actual data looks like. They agreed to move the deadline to one week after consensus around the actual numbers.

Chair Covington moved to approve the proposed amendments to R522, Annual Performance Goal Setting and Funding Determination, with the adjustment to the November 29 deadline being one week after there is consensus around the actual numbers. Board member Tetro seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Academic Year 2022-23 Institution Performance Goal Evaluation

 

Nate Talley presented as outlined in the agenda materials. There was a discussion amongst the Board members and presidents regarding the performance goals and access. Nate reviewed timely completion measures. They discussed using one-time funding to help change the trajectory and reviewed high-yield performance by institution. Nate noted an issue with program alignment, and we will continue to work on that. Vice Chair Neeleman motioned to approve the proposed performance funding distributions for the 2023 General Session ongoing appropriations to degree-granting institutions and the Board requested $30 million in new performance funding in FY 2025. Board member Tetro seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Academic Year 2023-24 Institution Performance Goal Setting

 

Nate presented the agenda materials as outlined and reviewed the goals. There was a discussion on how to set annual goals to meet the five-year goals for access. Nate reviewed goals for timely completion and high-yield. Board Member Ipson motioned to adopt the proposed performance funding goals for the academic year 2023-24. Board member Skonnard seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

FY 2024-2025 Prioritization of External Requests for Appropriation

 

Nate presented, as outlined in the agenda materials. Chair Covington motioned to adopt the 2024 General Session external requests for appropriations in the order prioritized by the Board. Board member Cox seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Shared Services Update

 

Nate provided an update on Shared Services. There was a discussion about the RFP process and the benefits and drawbacks of shared services. Vice Chair Neeleman moved to support and approve the proposed expansion of shared services in the areas of commercialization, Title IX, information technology, and benefits/payroll. Board member Tetro seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Board member Tetro motioned to go into closed session for the purposes of discussing the character, professional competence, or physical or mental health of an individual. Board member Eubank seconded the motion, and the Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

 

Closed Session

 

Board member Skonnard moved to adjourn. Chair Covington seconded the motion. The Board members in attendance voted unanimously in favor. The motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 9:29 p.m.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Alison A. Adams, Secretary

Date Approved: March 21, 2024