Straws in the Wind - Part 10

From the Chronicle of Higher Education: Earlier this year, Utah lawmakers passed two bills that cut $60 million to its higher-education system. That cut, however, came with a caveat — public colleges could earn the money back if they worked out a plan to shift the lost funds away from “operational inefficiencies” and toward high-demand, high-wage majors. The state’s eight public colleges have now spelled out precisely how they plan to do that.

After just 10 weeks of deliberating on what to cut, combine, or continue, leaders of Utah public colleges presented their “strategic reallocation” plans to the Utah System of Higher Education on Friday. All eight colleges’ plans were approved. Three colleges — the University of Utah, Utah State University, and Weber State University — were approved on the condition that they provide more details to the board later. Utah State’s approval is also dependent on review and approval by the institution’s next president.

Common strategies across the colleges included eliminating academic programs, cutting course offerings, reducing administrative staff, and consolidating programs.

The University of Utah plans to reallocate about $19.6 million over three years. Its report did not specify what academic programs it would be cutting, but said the resulting sums would be invested in “engineering, biotechnology, civic engagement, responsible AI, nursing & simulation, and behavioral health.” ...

Full story at https://www.chronicle.com/article/heres-what-utahs-colleges-are-doing-to-win-back-state-funding.