S.B. 120

1

DISTANCE EDUCATION DOCTORATE
2 PROGRAM
3 2001 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Sponsor: Beverly Ann Evans
6 This act provides for a Distance Education Doctorate Program to be offered by the state
7 system of higher education through Utah State University over the UEN-EDNET system.
8 The act has a $390,000 appropriation and an effective date of July 1, 2001.
9 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
10 ENACTS:
11 53B-18-1001, Utah Code Annotated 1953
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
13 Section 1. Section 53B-18-1001 is enacted to read:
14 Part 10. Distance Education Doctorate Program
15 53B-18-1001. Distance Education Doctorate Program.
16 (1) The Legislature finds that:
17 (a) many Utah public education administrators are nearing the end of their careers and will
18 retire early in the 21st Century;
19 (b) Utah public schools have many mid-career faculty that could become the next wave
20 of administrators if they were prepared with a doctorate in education degree that emphasized
21 curriculum and instruction;
22 (c) each of Utah's community colleges have several faculty that need a terminal degree and
23 further knowledge in curriculum development and state-of-the-art instructional methodology, and
24 these individuals, being mid-career, find it difficult to relocate to a college campus for a traditional
25 program; and
26 (d) the state and its students will be better served if faculty and administrators are more
27 knowledgeable about the development of curriculum and the latest instructional methodology

28 based on documented research.
29 (2) Therefore, Utah State University shall establish a Distance Education Doctorate
30 Program to accommodate public education administrators and community college faculty and
31 administration.
32 (3) The program shall include the following components:
33 (a) the offering of courses for a doctorate degree in education over the UEN-EDNET
34 system established under Title 53B, Chapter 17, Part 1, Educational Telecommunications;
35 (b) structuring of the program to make it identical to a regular campus program in rigor
36 and course work; and
37 (c) providing a support system from at least the following five departments at the
38 university:
39 (i) Elementary Education;
40 (ii) Secondary Education;
41 (iii) Business Information Systems and Education;
42 (iv) Industrial Technology; and
43 (v) Agricultural Systems Technology and Education.
44 (4) The university shall augment the program with off-campus summer courses, with those
45 courses eventually being offered over the UEN-EDNET system.
46 (5) The Legislature shall provide an annual appropriation to fund the program established
47 under this part.
48 Section 2. Appropriation.
49 There is appropriated from the General Fund for fiscal year 2001-02, $390,000 to Utah
50 State University to fund the Distance Education Doctorate Program established in Section
51 53B-18-1001 .
52 Section 3. Effective date.
53 This act takes effect on July 1, 2001.

Legislative Review Note
as of 1-15-01 10:39 AM

A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel