Senate Bill 216: Higher Education Performance and Enrollment Funding

 Senate Bill 216: Higher Education Performance and Enrollment Funding

If you just finished a Practical Nurse Certificate at Tooele Technical College, and you get a job, your school will receive better funding from the state of Utah. If you just finished a bachelor's degree and received a Registered Nurse qualification at Utah State University, and you get a job, your school will not necessarily receive better funding from the state of Utah. At least, that will be the situation if Senate Bill 216 passes during this legislative session. Why?


S.B. 216 would change the way higher education institutions in Utah receive funding. Funding would be tied to enrollment trends and performance goals. Both of these institutions, and all others in the state of Utah, will be judged based on several factors such as; 1) “strategically important awards,” which means certificates and degrees for high-demand fields and 2) "institutional efficiency,” or how many certificates and degrees were awarded per student at the institution. This makes sense. You would not want any institution to be teaching something that is useless in the real world, nor would you want any institution to keep students there for longer than is needed. These are sensible performance goals for all higher education institutions. 


However, research universities, specifically Utah State and the University of Utah, will have more funds allocated to them based on their research activities. Jobs after graduation are not tracked and not taken into account when it comes to resource allocation. Technical colleges, such as Tooele Technical College referred to above, will not be judged based on their research activities (seeing as they do not engage in research), rather funds are allocated to them based on the job placement of those who complete their programs. Hence, if you get a job after a PN at Tooele Tech, money to your school. If you get a job after an RN at Utah State, nothing for your school. There, funding follows research instead of jobs.


Tracking job placement can be costly and difficult, but wouldn’t it be worth the cost for not just technical colleges but also for top universities? Are top universities too often resting on their laurels, their prestige and name, and not keeping up with current job markets? Could they learn a little from technical colleges about how to stay current with trends in job markets, and how to help graduates secure great jobs? This is a question I have had for years, and it is one I will keep asking. All higher education institutions should be more clear what their objectives are to the students coming in, and if job placement is one of their objectives, I would like to see them report on that objective with metrics about job placements. Perhaps then we can make sure the funding will follow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Research in Higher Education

Research in Higher Education I manage a higher education program. I work in North America. Half of our students reside in sub-Saharan Africa. Figuring out what is actually happening in our program half a world away is very tricky, not just because of the physical distance, but because of the distance between context and cultural expectations. Add to that the complexity of running a program that spans 150 counties, and watch the difficulties pile up. I often find myself wishing I could access better data, both quantitative and qualitative. In my organization, we do our very best to collect data virtually. We travel a fair amount too to get an in-person perspective. But sometimes we question–how are these judgment calls we are making every day playing out in the field in real time? Are we making the right decisions? Are we the only ones struggling with this? Turns out, no. Our specific global reach aside, higher education research in general is under-studied, especially in contrast to K1...
Read more

Agree to Disagree

Agree to Disagree   Divided. Opposed. So far apart. To read that introduction, the average reader would not assume that I am describing the sentiments of citizens of a free country which calls itself "United." And yet citizens of this great nation have become quite polarized on matters ranging from gun laws to gas prices. Given the freedom of speech generously granted to every citizen of the United States of America, each American ought to feel free to exercise their rights to share their feelings even and especially when they differ from others.   It is a great blessing and benefit to be able to think and process freely without coercion or undue influence. This has been a cherished American ideal since its founding. In the process of forming opinions, we are naturally inclined to cling passionately to our personal paradigms. So what do we do when our thoughts disagree with someone around us? A natural response seems to be to put up a defense and fight for ...
Read more

H.B. 440: Eating up Time

Image
  H.B. 440: Eating up Time Maybe it’s because it was nearing lunchtime. I was seated in the gallery of Utah’s House of Representatives and heard something about lunch, and I was suddenly locked in. The forum on the floor at that very moment was an impassioned plea from a legislator on behalf of schoolchildren all across Utah. As a former elementary school teacher and principal, I locked in further. Sponsored by Rep. Tiara Auxier (District 4, Morgan, Rich and Summit counties) of the House Education Committee and Utah Senate Rules Vice Chair, Senator Keith Grover (District 23, Utah county), H.B. 440 “enacts provisions related to school community councils, school meals and recess in public school” (Utah Legislature, 2026). Specifically, H.B. 440 would: ·          Require an LEA to dedicate a share table program; ·          Require a School Community Council and a charter school’s wellness com...
Read more