Higher Ed Utah

(By Commissioner William A. Sederburg,  for Deseret News Op/Ed) — My office is the recipient of hundreds of studies about education, but once in a while a really significant study crosses my desk. “Significant” is just one way to describe a recent ground-breaking study from the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce.

This June 2010 study reported that in the next decade, Utah’s economy will require 66 percent of our population to have some form of post-secondary education credential, with 55 percent of those people needing at least an associate’s degree. Georgetown University says that Utah will be 8th among the 50 states in the need for a well educated work force, however right now only 39 percent of Utahns have earned an associate’s degree or higher. This creates a significant gap to fill.

In December, I will be asking the Board of Regents to adopt the “big goal,” of having 55 percent of our population with post secondary education credentials. This goal aligns with the objective recently set into motion by Governor Herbert’s Education Excellence Commission and 2020 Vision.

In order to create a successful path toward our “big goal,” the State Board of Regents and the Utah System of Higher Education has created an online public forum (www.higheredUtah2020.org) to gain public input and commentary on the future of higher education. We are working diligently to incorporate these thoughts and comments from the website, as well as other sources, into our 2020 higher education plan. As such, this plan will become a “living document” for shaping higher education as we move into the next decade.

Achievement of the “big goal” lies in making higher education accessible to all people, including groups of students who are currently underrepresented at our state’s colleges and universities. One of these is Utah’s minority populations, which are currently underserved in our institutions. Utah has one of the largest gaps between white and non-white students in the percentage attending college among all 50 states. Another group, which is a surprise to many, is women. Utah is dead last out of all 50 states in the percentage of women attending and completing college. If we reached even the national average, we would make immense strides toward our goal.

Another important issue related to reaching the “big goal” deals with increasing the rate of student completion, as too many Utah students leave college before completing a degree. According to the College Board’s 2010 Progress report, only 49% of Utah’s first-time, full-time freshmen completed a bachelor’s degree within six years of starting their program of study. While some of this could be attributed to Utah’s unique “missionary factor,” it does not account for all of it, nor can we rely on that as a reason to not do better. Decisions to leave college early can have long-term negative effects both to the state and to the individual.

Finally, we can hit the “big goal” by filling the current degree gap and increasing the level of economic innovation to prepare graduates for new business opportunities. Whether it is by nurturing the individuals and companies who grow Utah’s economy or by creating new knowledge through supporting research endeavors, the future plans of higher education must complement ideas that can be profitably transferred to the marketplace. We must continue aligning education with future talent force needs and establish a climate where partnerships between government, education and industry flourish. It is the future demands of employers that increase the necessity for promoting opportunities for education, training and well-trained employees.

I wholeheartedly agree with Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lane Beattie who takes vision for the next decade one step further, saying, “It is our future, and if we don’t address it now we will lose that future.” If Utah is to prosper, we must elevate our educational attainment, and the State Board of Regents and the Utah System of Higher Education are wholly committed to doing our part to create financial security for the state.

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