H.J.R. 42

1

JOINT RESOLUTION ON HIGHER EDUCATION'S UTAH
2 2020 PLAN
3 2011 GENERAL SESSION
4 STATE OF UTAH
5 Chief Sponsor: Brad L. Dee
6 Senate Sponsor: ____________
7
8 LONG TITLE
9 General Description:
10 This joint resolution of the Legislature expresses support for the HigherEdUtah2020
11 strategic plan.
12 Highlighted Provisions:
13 This resolution:
14 . expresses support for the HigherEdUtah2020 strategic plan, as approved by the
15 State Board of Regents, and for its comprehensive approach to the need for Utah's
16 System of Higher Education to rise to tomorrow's education challenges.
17 Special Clauses:
18 None
19
20 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
21 WHEREAS, the HigherEdUtah2020 strategic plan was approved by the State Board of
22 Regents on December 9, 2010;
23 WHEREAS, the State Board of Regents and the Commissioner of Higher Education
24 will produce a report each January that will chart the progress Utah has made towards its goal
25 of having 66% of Utah's men and women age 25 to 64 hold a postsecondary degree or
26 certificate by the year 2020;
27 WHEREAS, changes in recommended education strategies are expected as technology

28 and teaching pedagogies continue to advance and improve to better shape the learning process
29 and outcomes;
30 WHEREAS, the 2010 Report, which is the inaugural report of the HigherEdUtah2020
31 strategic plan, was developed after much input, feedback, and support from Utah's education
32 community and its stakeholders;
33 WHEREAS, Utah's prosperity depends upon its citizens meeting these demands by
34 attaining the level of education they desire that is also commensurate with workforce
35 opportunities;
36 WHEREAS, having a college and workforce-ready pool of students interested and
37 prepared to participate in postsecondary education is a prerequisite for achieving Utah's goal;
38 WHEREAS, personal income and educational attainment are highly correlated, as is
39 economic development and attracting and creating high-paying jobs that require higher
40 education degrees and skills;
41 WHEREAS, higher education attainment reduces the need for social services, as
42 graduates are much more likely to be self-sustaining adults;
43 WHEREAS, the State Board of Regents should adopt clearly written standards defining
44 college/career readiness and admission policies so parents and students know what is expected
45 to succeed in postsecondary education;
46 WHEREAS, each of Utah's institutions of higher education should submit and present
47 to the State Board of Regents an Access Inventory Report to identify policies, programs,
48 services, and resources currently in place to support increased student participation;
49 WHEREAS, with this information, a statewide access network and an online database
50 could be created that would be critical in identifying gaps in services, determining potential
51 program best practices, and encouraging increased collaboration and resource sharing;
52 WHEREAS, the strategic plan recommends changes to the concurrent enrollment
53 program;
54 WHEREAS, the strategic plan recommends strengthening and expanding collaboration
55 between K-12 and higher education, increasing financial support for low-income students by
56 adequately financing, repurposing, reenergizing, and renaming the Utah Centennial
57 Opportunity Program for Education (UCOPE) to Success Stipends, thereby providing greater
58 student support through need-based financial aid;

59 WHEREAS, the strategic plan recommends expansion of the Utah Council Senior Tour
60 to include regional scholarship and financial aid events and admission counseling and activities
61 targeted at high school seniors;
62 WHEREAS, the strategic plan recommends that a competitive subgrant process be
63 developed to assist low-income and under represented students in preparing for and succeeding
64 in college;
65 WHEREAS, the strategic plan also addresses how to increase the number of higher
66 education students to persist and complete their education once they enter college;
67 WHEREAS, Utah higher education institutions need to retain and graduate a larger
68 percentage of their students;
69 WHEREAS, to achieve this goal, Utah has joined the "Complete College America"
70 (CCA) collaborative of 22 states;
71 WHEREAS, new funding mechanisms should be supported that tie institutional
72 funding to educational outcomes;
73 WHEREAS, the strategic plan recommends a mission-based funding mechanism for the
74 Utah System of Higher Education (USHE) institutions that focuses new dollars specifically on
75 measurable products;
76 WHEREAS, new accountability measures would connect funding to institutions'
77 missions based on growth in course and degree completion, as well as research that contributes
78 to the economy, quality and regional economic development activities, and job placement,
79 rather than on third-week census numbers;
80 WHEREAS, statewide completion goals should be set that allow uniform measurement
81 to be established, with progress and successes regularly reported;
82 WHEREAS, using data from the Utah Data Alliance, USHE should require each
83 institution to report its retention and completion performance and goals to the Regents
84 annually;
85 WHEREAS, these reports would then be compiled and distributed to the Regents, the
86 Governor, and the Legislature by the Commissioner's Office;
87 WHEREAS, institutions should support new curriculum and individualized advising,
88 mentoring, and delivery options for developmental and remedial education that builds practical
89 skills;

90 WHEREAS, the Board of Regents and State Board of Education should establish
91 mutual goals for reducing the number of students requiring remedial education and report
92 progress annually;
93 WHEREAS, institutions should provide annual reports to K-12 schools as to the level
94 of remediation needed by students enrolling in college within the same year they graduate from
95 high school;
96 WHEREAS, Regents should challenge each institution to adopt or enhance policies,
97 such as mandatory attendance for freshman-level classes, mid-term grading feedback, and
98 first-year college experience classes to improve traditional college student retention;
99 WHEREAS, in order to educate an additional 100,000 plus students in the next 10
100 years, both the physical and virtual capacity of Utah's higher education system will need to be
101 increased significantly;
102 WHEREAS, USHE should increase the use of mixed delivery courses to make the best
103 use of limited college and university classroom space;
104 WHEREAS, USHE institutions should develop new strategies to encourage more
105 efficient time for graduation with the goal of completing a bachelor's degree in four years or
106 less by having more evening, weekend, summer, block scheduling, cohort-based programs, and
107 online classes;
108 WHEREAS, legislative approval should be sought for money for land acquisition and
109 buildings for branch campus development in underserved and high growth parts of the state;
110 WHEREAS, the number of students accessing community colleges should be expanded
111 through the creation of community colleges or community college centers within regional state
112 universities in order to ensure statewide coverage and public awareness of community college
113 services;
114 WHEREAS, a state-level system of translating competencies into college credit should
115 be created to enhance articulation efforts between Utah College of Applied Technology
116 (UCAT) campuses and USHE institutions, as well as within and among USHE institutions;
117 WHEREAS, USHE institutions, with state funding, should collaborate to expand online
118 course and degree offerings that could be made available from a host institution at a low cost to
119 the students;
120 WHEREAS, partnering with other low-cost providers throughout the state should be

121 considered with the goal of reducing the cost of a college degree;
122 WHEREAS, emphasis should be placed on General Education and STEM-related
123 courses and on employing Essential Learning Outcomes;
124 WHEREAS, emphasis could also be placed on career and technical education pathway
125 courses needed to train students to fill jobs needed in key areas of the economy;
126 WHEREAS, the Utah Education Network (UEN) should provide a portal so that
127 students and faculty could easily access quality online courses at little or no cost for the course
128 content;
129 WHEREAS, all concurrent enrollment classes should be offered with open access
130 material when learning outcomes can be achieved using those materials;
131 WHEREAS, state contracts for electronic textbooks should be negotiated to reduce
132 costs for students;
133 WHEREAS, institutions should achieve better classroom utilization by developing
134 mixed-delivery courses where students come to class fewer times each week;
135 WHEREAS, strategic plans should address how colleges and universities are using
136 technology to improve student outcomes, decrease the cost of instructions, increase the
137 efficiency of campus services and facilitate research, and communications;
138 WHEREAS, most administrative and student processes, operations, and services should
139 be moved online with the help of increased technology investment through the Higher
140 Education Technology Initiative;
141 WHEREAS, the state should expand and replicate the Utah Cluster Acceleration
142 Partnership (UCAP) initiative among all USHE institutions, especially the regional and
143 community college institutions, and to all major economic clusters as well as those with a
144 significant regional economic impact;
145 WHEREAS, talent clusters should also be created among education institutions;
146 WHEREAS, the state should provide tuition assistance through block grants for
147 students enrolled in critical degree or career pathways for the state's economic growth;
148 WHEREAS, this would clarify degrees of most importance and align degree production
149 goals with areas of greatest economic opportunity; and
150 WHEREAS, the price of these initiatives clearly varies depending on which
151 recommendations are adopted and which recommendations, if adopted, would be phased in

152 over time:
153 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
154 expresses its support for the HigherEdUtah2020 strategic plan, as approved by the State Board
155 of Regents, and for its comprehensive approach to the need of Utah's System of Higher
156 Education to rise to tomorrow's education challenges.
157 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the Utah State
158 Board of Regents and to each of Utah's Institutions of Higher Education.




Legislative Review Note
as of 2-16-11 4:49 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel