Education after high school is complex, expensive, important, and sometimes controversial. It also has numerous goals that are naturally in conflict. Four of the most important are completion, quality, affordability, and access. The Utah Board of Higher Education is tasked with addressing these goals with the help of various tools highlighted in this report. These include performance funding, program reviews, budget alignment, and student support services.
The right balance among quality, affordability, access, and completion will be bolstered by aligning institutional goals and operating under the statute-defined mission and roles of the institutions. Using its role as a governing body, the Utah Board of Higher Education can ensure system alignment now and for the future of education in Utah.
Highlights of the Report:
- The Utah State Board of Education should determine whether performance funding can be adapted to encourage adherence to the state’s post-secondary goals.
- The Board should enforce its statute-defined mission and roles policy consistently, working to reduce competition and increase coordination among post-secondary institutions.
- The Board should maximize all post-secondary options by embracing the Utah Legislature’s commissioned report from the National Center for Higher Education Management System, which focuses on better utilization of Utah’s community colleges.
- The Board is restricted in directly affecting many policy levers, but it can advocate for policies – such as college advising, wraparound services, and broader educational alliances – among stakeholders and policymakers to benefit Utah’s post-secondary system and students.
