Higher Ed Utah

(Kevin Opsahl, Herald-Journal) — Officials at Utah State University feel good after the first two days of the legislative session, expressing confidence that the goals outlined by the school and the Utah Board of Regents will be met.

However, they say they are keeping a close eye on the issue of faculty compensation.

Since Gov. Gary Herbert announced his budget in December – which includes raises for all state employees except those in higher education – it is up to the Legislature to craft its own budget. That most likely will happen at the end of the session after tax revenue numbers are announced in February.

The challenge for USU is that even though lawmakers have a $208 million surplus to work with, it could easily been “eaten up” because of growth in public schools and programs like Medicaid, according to Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan.

Tuesday marked the first time the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee – which includes Draxler, Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan and Curt Webb, R- Providence – met to discuss trends, technologies and ideas in higher education. It is expected that USU President Stan Albrecht and other presidents of Utah’s public colleges and universities will have a chance to address their concerns to the committee next week.

At that time, like compensation will be addressed, USU officials said, but already members of the subcommittee are trying to find money in the budget to make that a reality.

“We’ve had a lot of great discussions with the legislators both on the Higher (Education Appropriations Subcommittee) and the leadership in the Senate and the House, and we feel fairly positive about the tone towards higher education this session,” said Neil Abercrombie, USU’s director of government relations. “Certainly there are still challenges with the budget because there are a lot of other needs to be met around the state. But certainly there quite a few people who feel, as we do, that it’s about time for some salary increases for public employees.”

According to the Utah Legislature’s website, there are currently 15 higher education bills on the agenda as of Tuesday afternoon.

One of those bills, SB39, was recommended by the Education Commission on Tuesday. It would give the governor greater power in hiring and firing the state’s commissioner of higher education and the president of the Utah College of Applied Technology.

The Board of Regents – the governing board of all of Utah’s colleges and universities – would still select the state’s higher-education commissioner, and the UCAT board of trustees would still choose a president. But their selections would need the governor and Senate’s approval.

The governor could fire either appointee after consulting with the respective board.

As for higher education bills not yet introduced, USU officials and members of the Board of Regents knew a bill getting rid of teacher tenure would show up again – and sure enough, they were right. More…