Higher Ed Utah

(Lee Davidson, Salt Lake Tribune) — SB286 » Lawmakers want to know if high school students are truly ready for college, and if not, what they need to do to correct it.

The Senate voted 29-0 Monday to advance SB286 by Sen. Steve Urquhart, R-St. George, and sent it to the House.

It allows the State Board of Regents to spend $500,000 to set up an online assessment tool that high school students can use to see if they are ready for college.

If they are not, it would provide guidance on what classes and curriculum they should take to correct it.

Urquhart said colleges do such testing when students arrive, but he would like to move that up to avoid the time and expense of taking remedial classes.

He said it should help improve the completion rate at state colleges and universities, which he said is currently in the mid-30 percent range. In comparison, he said the completion rate at the private Brigham Young University is about 78 percent.

A recent legislative audit found Utah universities’ completion rates were low — but not as low as Urquhart said.

The November 2011 audit found the following graduation rates: the University of Utah, 58 percent; Utah State, 55 percent; Weber State and Southern Utah, both 43 percent. More…