“Dr. Prince is a tremendous business leader to the southern Utah community.  His previous service as a board member of the Dixie College Alumni Association has given him grass-roots experience in higher education,” said Regent Chair David Jordan. “I am confident that his contribution to the Board of Regents will prove invaluable.

Prince grew up in St. George where his father was Southern Utah’s first orthodontist.  He holds degrees from Dixie College and the University of Southern California. Prince currently owns a private orthodontic practice with offices located in St. George and Beaver. He is past president of the Utah Association of Orthodontists and currently serves on the Council on Orthodontic Health Care for the American Association of Orthodontists. Prince is known throughout Utah for his high standard of dental care; in 1999 he received honors for excellence by the Utah Dental Hygiene Association.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at http://www.higheredutah.org.

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To download .pdf of this news release, click here.

UHEAA fall tour gives free information, assistance to students everywhere in the state

SALT LAKE CITY – Even though Halloween is right around the corner, there are some folks who seem more afraid of paying for college during this time of year. Fear not! Experts from the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority (UHEAA) are ready to rescue by sponsoring Financial Aid Nights in a statewide tour providing students and their families all the information they need about college financial aid, scholarships, filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and important college prep deadlines. These Financial Aid Nights kicked off on August 30 at San Juan High School and will continue in all areas of Utah throughout the fall until mid-November.

“It’s never too soon to start thinking about going to, and finishing, college and our financial aid representatives are ready to ease concerns and answer questions for students and their parents,” said UHEAA Executive Director David Feitz. “This statewide tour is provided for Utahns all the way from Cache to Washington Counties, and everywhere in between, so they are armed with the right tools to successfully prepare and pay for college.” In addition to opportunities to talk about financial aid, representatives from the state’s colleges and universities will also be on hand for information and one-on-one discussions.

For complete information about UHEAA’s Financial Aid Night Utah Tour including dates and locations, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/uheaa and click on “Events” or visit higheredutah.org.

About the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority: For over 30 years UHEAA, an agency with the Utah System of Higher Education, has assisted Utah’s students and their families to save, plan, prepare, and pay for college. We are committed to providing Utah’s residents with the best access to resources and services helping them find opportunities for education and training after high school. Visit uheaa.org or follow on Facebook and Twitter to find out more about resources and services.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at higheredutah.org.

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Funding allows Utah to continue efforts for better-educated workforce

SALT LAKE CITY – In the last decade, the Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) has emerged as a national leader in defining general education learning outcomes, competencies and common course numbering for better transferability throughout Utah’s state colleges and universities. Because of this groundbreaking work, the Utah Board of Regents has received a $390,000 grant from Lumina Foundation to use in expanding efforts to define quality in higher education, a process also known as Tuning. Tuning is a transparent process that informs students, parents and policy makers about what a student must know, understand and be able to do at each degree level. Because of its intentional approach to learning outcomes and student demonstration of competencies, Tuning better prepares graduates for citizenship and the workforce.

“The Tuning process in higher education helps faculty understand the relevance of their own work, how it translates to student experience and ultimately what employers do with those credentials,” said Dr. Phyllis Safman, Assistant Commissioner of Higher Education who, with Drs. Janice Gygi and William Evenson lead the Tuning Project in Utah. “This type of teaching takes into account what employers need and want from our graduates.” Additionally, policymakers may benefit from Tuning so they may better allocate resources based on an understanding of what degrees mean to students, institutions and society.

Tuning is a faculty driven, collaborative method that shifts traditional instruction to an explicit process of identifying learning outcomes, competencies, and how students might demonstrate mastery using hands-on, high impact practices such as group projects and service learning. Thus, skills and knowledge are transparent at every degree level – associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s.

To date, Utah’s institutions have successfully Tuned physics and history at Utah’s eight state institutions. This Lumina Foundation grant will help faculty in elementary education and general education math drill into the competencies and learning outcomes necessary to align college-level courses with the Common Core State Standards at the public colleges and universities as well as Brigham Young University and Westminster College. Participating faculty will then share their Tuning experience with their departments, introducing their colleagues to the Tuning approach.

About Lumina Foundation for Education: Lumina Foundation is an Indianapolis-based private foundation dedicated to expanding access to and success in education beyond high school.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at http://www.higheredutah.org.

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To downolad a .pdf file of this news release, click here.

Compared to the rest of the country, Utah’s institutions of higher education receive approximately 74 percent of the funding (from all sources including tuition) that their peer institutions receive. The 2011 USHE Efficiency Report looks at various cost-cutting solutions from successful transferability of credits within USHE institutions to concurrent enrollment courses. Faculty efficiencies, technology and library integration and partnerships with state and local agencies are some of the other ways education funds are utilized while continuously improving institutions to serve the needs of Utah’s students.

The analysis of this new report was based on the NCHEMS findings of Utah as a “High Performance, Low Funding” state for undergraduate students and funding. “Utah receives less state appropriation and collects less tuition per full time student than most states, so we’ve had to come up with solutions to do more with less,” said Commissioner Bill Sederburg. “Therefore, Utah has adopted various system-level solutions across campuses, and institutions have also created efficiencies that work for each of them.” The results are that Utah has become a model for the United States in managing a higher education system during an economic downturn.

For more information or to download a digital copy of the 2011 USHE Efficiency Report, click here.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at http://www.higheredutah.org.

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To download a .pdf of this news release, click here.

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State Board of Regents and the University of Utah have launched a presidential search Website to keep the public informed during the process of selecting the U of U’s next president. Visitors can log onto presidentialsearch.utah.edu to provide nominations, commentary and input into the search process, as well as receive up-to-date information on timeline, updates and constituent meetings.

“We are eager to provide the public with a resource where they can find current and complete information regarding the search for the next The University of Utah president,” said Regent Nolan Karras, presidential search committee Chairman. “Finding a new leader for Utah’s flagship university is a process in which we want to broadly invite people to be involved.    This website will enable our constituents to be informed and participate in a user-friendly way.” The website also provides email addresses for direct commentary and questions, a list of the search committee members and other information to provide not only transparency, but also public integration and understanding surrounding this exciting time.

Additionally, the website features a calendar listing several constituent meetings planned in an effort to solicit broad input regarding the qualifications of an ideal candidate. While these meetings will target some specific constituent groups (i.e. faculty, students, staff, etc), each is open to the public. More meetings will be added as they are confirmed. For a complete listing of these meetings, beginning Friday August 12, 2011, log onto the website and click “Timeline & Updates” in the left-hand column.

Speak up! Log on! Be a part of history at presidentialsearch.utah.edu.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at http://www.higheredutah.org.

Speak up! Log on! Be a part of history at presidentialsearch.utah.edu# # #

To download a .pdf of this news release, click here.

Now even more resources with new Learning Express Library partnership

SALT LAKE CITY – When preparing for college you could spend $62 on test prep books for the SAT and ACT, $20 on a college guide book and $5 on a 12-pack of soda, or you could just relax and drink that soda while logging onto UtahFutures.org to receive college and career readiness information for free.

UtahFutures has free access to more than 800 skill-building practice tests, eBooks and college and career prep tests and can even give financial aid advice on how to pay for school.  These testing and prep resources nearly quadruple those previously available thanks to a new partnership between UtahFutures and Learning Express Library.

The Learning Express Library now available on UtahFutures.org is a comprehensive, online database of practice tests and tutorial courses designed to help students and adult learners succeed on academic and licensing tests. It provides options for improving skills and passing key benchmark tests. Learning Express can be located by setting up a portfolio and navigating to academic tests.  A single sign on feature links UtahFutures users directly to the Learning Express Library.

Learning centers are available for elementary through college and graduate students.   Customers can improve their math and reading skills, learn computer software programs, prepare for college and graduate degree programs and more.

Many states have education and career planning tools, but UtahFutures has the largest partnership of education and workforce planning agencies of any state in the country. The partnership will have long-term benefits for Utah students and adults as UtahFutures becomes Utah’s ubiquitous tool for education and career planning and portfolios.

About The Utah System of Higher Education: USHE includes all of Utah’s eight public colleges and universities: The University of Utah, Utah State University, Weber State University, Southern Utah University, Snow College, Dixie State College, Utah Valley University and Salt Lake Community College. For more information on the Utah System of Higher Education, visit our website at http://www.higheredutah.org.

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“Decisions more than circumstances really shape our lives,” he told Friday’s graduating class of Weber State University students.

Leavitt, who served five-and-a-half years as head of the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush, said going to Washington was a “life-changing decision,” much like new graduates will now be asked to make, including jobs, family, marriage or additional schooling for some.

“The ability to make good decisions,” he said, “is a refining capacity requiring contemplation and thought.”

The “five keys of decision-making,” Leavitt said, involve writing it down, shrinking the uncertainties, examining the biases, counseling with others and deciding when to decide. Those steps will lead to much satisfaction and success, he said.

Issac Goeckeritz, a graduate and successful documentary filmmaker, said in a video played during the spring commencement ceremony that “Weber State taught me to do research … to have an interest in the world around me.”

He said the knowledge gained from decisions made throughout his college experience have made him the person he is today and given him the tools to succeed.

To read the rest of this article in the Deseret News, click here.