Specifically, the Draper Republican’s gibe rattled cages in liberal arts colleges and in departments like English, history and the arts, where the joke has long been that graduates need to prepare certain phrases such as, “Do you want fries with that?” to go along with their Chaucer and appreciation for Renaissance painters.

But when Stephenson threw down his gauntlet and dissed the value of what has long been the core of any educated person — humanities, arts and social sciences — the faculty and students of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHaSS) at Utah State University pushed back.

Biology major Megan Paxton scoffed when she heard the “nowhere” remark. “I disagree. Very strongly,” she said. “The humanities are part of every sophisticated society. The arts keep us from turning into technical barbarians. They promote expression and higher thinking.”

The college, whose professors teach 60 percent or more of the general education classes required of all Aggie students — from aerospace studies majors to business majors, from mathematicians to zoologists — has no apologies for its support of the liberal arts. In fact, CHaSS has just launched an alumni magazine to trumpet the value of its curriculum and the successes of its graduates and their “degrees to everywhere.”

Dean John Allen, a rural sociologist, says a broad liberal arts education teaches critical thinking and communication skills; global perspectives; problem-solving and flexibility; and prepares students not just for that first job, but for life. National surveys of business executives consistently list “nowhere” skills and perspectives at the top of their lists of new employee attributes, he says.

“They want people with skills in critical thinking, quantitative analysis and complex problem solving. That’s what we do in a liberal education,” Allen said. “We bring that extra ability to integrate knowledge across fields and understand macro issues. We bring in the ethical decision-making process.” More…

Edward C. Pease is professor of journalism and head of the Department of Journalism & Communication at Utah State University. D. Whitney Smith is a junior journalism major.

The problem, wrote Harold Salzman of Rutgers and B. Lindsay Lowell of Georgetown, is that fewer than half of all college graduates in science and engineering actually take jobs in those fields. So instead of pressing colleges to produce more science graduates, they wrote, the country needed only to persuade new graduates to take the right jobs.

A study released on Wednesday by another Georgetown research team suggests, however, that lot of persuasion may be necessary.

Among its findings, the study, from the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, shows that science and engineering graduates enjoy high demand in a variety of fields, with a bachelor’s degree in a science major commanding a greater salary than a master’s degree in a nonscience major.

And, the new report says, English-speaking science graduates are much less likely than foreign-born science graduates to take a job in a traditional science career, which American graduates often view as too socially isolating.

“It sort of fits the stereotype, frankly,” said the report’s lead author, Anthony P. Carnevale, a research professor at Georgetown who serves as director of the Center on Education and the Workforce.

In recent months, the center has also issued reports that analyzed students’ future earnings based on their undergraduate majors, and that tied lifetime earnings as much to students’ choice of occupation as to their degrees. More…

Urquhart, co-chairman of the higher education appropriations subcommittee, introduced a handful of ideas Wednesday he hopes will turn into legislation that could improve Utah’s colleges and universities. He plans to start a discussion that could develop into concrete legislation.

“I think we have a good system. I think it’s a sound system, but I do think it’s an under-performing system,” he said at a press conference at the state Capitol.

One of Urquhart’s primary concerns relates to the number of students who require remedial courses upon entering college.

“Many of our high school students are graduating from high school unprepared for college, unprepared for the workforce,” he said.

That’s because the higher education system doesn’t have high expectations for its incoming students, he said, and that needs to change. Urquhart proposes higher admission standards and adaptive testing at the high school level could reduce the need for remediation by better preparing students.

What’s more, eliminating remedial courses at the University of Utah and Utah State for students straight out of high school would show teenagers a lot is expected out of them. Non-traditional students would still have the option to take remedial courses at those schools if they needed to brush up.

“At our two research institutions in particular, we should make sure that our students are prepared,” he said.

Another problem facing the state is that too few of Utah’s students finish college once they start, Urquhart said, particularly young women.

“If we have students starting and not completing, then they’re not getting that all-important certificate that tells the world they know something,” he said. “That’s a frighteningly expensive way to get education.”

The senator said there isn’t enough flexibility within the current higher education framework. Students who are fathers and mothers or who work full-time are more likely to drop out due to not being able to conform to their school’s schedule. If colleges and universities collaborated and shared their various online curriculum, students statewide could benefit from the courses already in place at schools such as USU and Weber State.

“Let’s break down these silos,” he said.

The Utah System of Higher Education released a statement Wednesday thanking Urquhart for opening up the dialogue.

“Our state is fortunate to have exceptional colleges and universities that provide students with a wealth of post-secondary opportunities, and we welcome input from the Senator and his colleagues on achieving even greater excellence in our system of higher education,” according to the statement.

Urquhart said his proposals are still in the preliminary stages, and he welcomes feedback at www.SteveU.com. He plans to present his ideas at the higher education appropriations subcommittee on Nov. 17. More…

StepUP to Higher Education looks to overcome barriers sometimes associated with higher education by encouraging students to dream big about their futures and provides the tools for
students to act on those dreams. The campaign also urges parents, educators, mentors and community leaders to encourage and inspire the dreams of Utah’s future college students.

The campaign centers on a comprehensive website, stepuputah.com, which informs groups under 12, 12- to 18-years-old and adults (parents, educators, etc.) that “college” can include anything from a one-year certificate to a four-year degree. To align with the Utah System of Higher Education’s goal of having 66% of Utah’s workforce with postsecondary degrees by 2020, it is essential to reach out to student populations who may have never considered higher education.

More after the jump…

“In order for us to achieve our ‘big goal,’ we need to speak out to students, parents and adults
and let them know that they can overcome any roadblocks throughout their lives which would
lead to not attending, and finishing, college,” Commissioner of Higher Education Bill
Sederburg said. “We look forward to this campaign and see it as a new way to reach Utah
students, and their parents, who may have never before heard this message.”
Additional components of StepUP to Higher Education include social media, television and
radio advertising, and other grassroots initiatives.

“A key component of this campaign will be taking the message that college is possible directly
to the students,” said Melissa Miller Kincart, Assistant Commissioner for Access and
Outreach. “We will be in Utah communities, reaching out to students of all ages where they
live and play, to help them understand that higher education is critical to their future success.”
Funding for this initiative is made possible through the College Access Challenge Grant, a
federal grant from the United States Department of Education. For more information or to see
and hear radio and television spots for the “StepUP” campaign, visit stepuputah.com,
facebook.com/stepuputah or on Twitter at @StepUpUtah.

Give the same group another two years, and you’ll get an extra 24 graduates per 100 original enrollees. Double the original four years to eight, and you’ll get eight additional grads, for a total of 48 graduates per 100 enrollees.

And the graduation numbers are lower for part-time students working toward a four-year degree. For every 100 who enroll, just 25 will have degrees eight years later.

“Nationally, half the students don’t complete their B.A., and the numbers are dramatically worse when you look at low-income and minority groups,” said Dominique Raymond, spokeswoman for Complete College America, the nonprofit group that did the national study, which included data from only 33 states.

“Students don’t finish because life gets in the way.”

Many universities set up their programs for the students of earlier generations. Those students’ parents paid for tuition, food and housing, which allowed the students to focus and finish on time.

But student enrollment today includes many more people who are holding down full-time jobs, who have families that require their attention and who are struggling to pay their own tuition, Raymond said.

“Higher education in the United States has made terrific strides in terms of access,” she said. “Now it’s an issue of success and completion.”

Students who don’t complete their certificate programs, associate or bachelor’s degrees leave school without the career advantages that come with a degree, but they often carry tuition debt. More…

This fall, Utah Valley University unveiled GPA and ACT score requirements that incoming students under 23 must meet to avoid remedial course work. It will be the first time an open-enrollment school in Utah asks applicants for their high school grades.

“Even if it’s only an inch high, it’s still a hurdle,” said Sen. Steve Urquhart, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, in praising the move by UVU President Matthew Holland.

Meanwhile, Utah’s selective schools — University of Utah, Utah State University, Southern Utah University and the private Westminster College — are making no secret of their desire to raise admissions standards, while Brigham Young University already maintains a high bar.

Holland’s plan marks a subtle yet profound shift in the way open-enrollment schools, the crowded work horses of Utah’s system of higher education, operate their gates. Observers say the new standards don’t foreclose the possibility of a university education for low achievers, while sending an important message.

“If you don’t [impose standards] the message is ‘Come one, come all, high school doesn’t matter.’ Yet high school matters a lot,” said Holland’s predecessor, William Sederburg, now commissioner of higher education. “You want to be clear, yet at the same time help kids. That is what Matt is trying to do.”

Weak graduation rates mean the state is squandering resources on students who don’t get degrees and far too few working-age people will have the credentials to participate in a knowledge-based economy. Students face many obstacles to graduating, such as jobs, family responsibilities and finances, but the biggest is lack of the math and language skills necessary for college-level studies. More…

The Step Up campaign seeks to overcome barriers to higher education that some youths may face. The campaign also urges parents, educators, mentors and community leaders to encourage and inspire students to consider college.

Higher education officials say they hope the Step Up campaign will help them with their goal of having 66 percent of Utah’s workforce with some form of post-secondary degree by 2020.

“In order for us to achieve our ‘big goal,’ we need to speak out to students, parents and adults and let them know that they can overcome any roadblocks throughout their lives,” Commissioner of Higher Education Bill Sederburg said.

The campaign will include social media, television and radio advertising, and grass-roots initiatives, and will be directed to under-represented populations, such as youths in rural areas of Utah and female students, officials said.

The campaign is made possible through a federal grant through the U.S. Department of Education.

More…