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It’s been one of the driving criticisms of the state-imposed budget cuts : The metrics that Utah’s public colleges have been instructed to use when determining which programs to discontinue to save money are vague. State leaders have directed that they want “inefficient” and low enrollment majors to be phased out. They’ve called for degrees leading to lower-paying jobs to get the ax.
And the law they wrote says schools should factor in graduation rates, job placements and enrollment. But how is “low enrollment” or “lower-paying” defined? What numbers, specifically, are below the mark? For the first time, some of those targets were revealed Monday during a faculty meeting at the University of Utah. U.
Provost Mitzi Montoya , who oversees the school’s academic operations, said the university is working to quickly review finances and program outcomes to meet the budget cuts in the short two-month timeframe schools have since the legislation was passed and signed into law last month. Initial input from leaders at the Utah System of Higher Education, or USHE — which oversees the state’s eight public colleges and universities — directed the U. to focus its efforts on any majors that graduate fewer than 40 students per year, Montoya said.
Depending on how majors are calculated, she added, the counts vary widely. And she raised several concerns about the incompleteness of the numbers overall and frustration with what the system is choosing to assess. “The data are challenging, but it is what USHE is looking at,” she added.
If students with double majors are counted in each of their programs, then the U. only has 10 majors that fall below the specific threshold. But if the state only counts one of a student’s majors, it’s 20.
The U. has about 260 majors total. A spokesperson for the U.
later noted that some of those degrees include: mining engineering, metallurgical engineering, geological engineering and at least one parks and recreation major. The school intends to challenge those falling under the threshold, noting that they’re also pathways to high-demand jobs in the state. Schools must submit an initial draft of their plans to the Utah System of Higher Education in May before making a formal presentation to the board the following month.
Approval from lawmakers is expected in August and September. The U. has the largest share of the cuts of any of the eight public colleges and universities under the state’s system, at $19.
6 million. Total across the schools, the reduction is $60.5 million to the base budget for higher education.
The institutions have been told to come up with the money by cutting programs, but they can also earn their portion back under HB265 if they prove they’ll reinvest it in the high-demand, high-wage jobs the state values. Those have, so far, been named as data science, nursing and accounting. The direction from USHE isn’t necessarily to cut the smaller majors outright.
But Montoya bristled at the number, which she said feels arbitrary. It doesn’t take into account, she said, the popularity of certificates or minors in those same fields. And it doesn’t include flexibility for enrollment change over time; the majors might be gaining steam, for instance, or may have just been introduced as an option for students.
The data, she said, “undercounts, as we can all imagine.” Geoff Landward, the state’s commissioner over public higher education, has urged schools to look at multiple data points and datasets, including their own figures, to come up with and justify their cuts. He doesn’t think any decision should be based on one number or one dashboard from USHE.
The system has tried to provide different tools to help, and last month, it approved a template for schools. But it’s ultimately up to each school to determine what works best for their institution. He doesn’t expect any two institutions to present the same plan.
Other schools in the state have been looking at eliminating administrative positions and asking for voluntary buyouts to cover the budget cuts. “I will say that this process is new, and we will continue to welcome feedback from institutions and will make adjustments to the data and guidance as needed,” Landward added to the concern brought up by Montoya. The U.
started looking at ways to trim its budget with the reductions were first discussed in the fall, prior to the legislative session. It ran an exercise where every department was asked to consider what a 10% or higher cut would look like. Montoya said the school is still looking through those submissions, as well as meeting with deans and department chairs to discuss them more in-depth.
The second metric — still not fully defined — that USHE has urged schools to weigh heavily is the salaries students receive one year after they graduate, she said. She didn’t provide a specific target range that has been given for those. But Montoya said the one-year mark is not long enough.
National analysis has shown that the shorter timeframe tends to disadvantage students graduating in the liberal arts, which pay less at the start; and there’s been continued concern from professors that those degrees will be targeted . By five years into a job, those students tend to catch up in pay, Montoya noted. “We will continue to educate and argue for looking further out,” she said.
The job numbers are also incomplete, Montoya added, because the data from USHE and the Utah Department of Workforce Services doesn’t factor in students who graduate and are employed out of state. And it also doesn’t track students who are small business owners, such as a music major who goes on to teach private lessons. Students who go on to medical school or graduate programs are also not counted.
Several faculty members raised similar objections. Carol Sansone, a psychology professor, hemmed at the shortcomings for defining success by salary. Another professor wrote in the comments during the online presentation: “So our goal is to teach people how to become wealthy?” Sydney Cheek O’Donnell, an associate professor of theater, said she felt it was “shortsighted” for USHE to set the standards as they are.
“I under the Legislature doing this,” she added, “but not USHE.”.
