Good story in the SL Trib today about Utah Valley University and its “perfect storm” of budget cuts and enrollment growth that are impeding its meteoric (or mediocre?) progress from a trade school for high school students to a “university.”
An influx of students coming back for education coupled with budget cuts to create a situation where there are too many students, not enough faculty and not enough space at the school.
In short, UVU has gotten too big for its britches.
And while this will cause problems for UVU, other schools in the state also are suffering or will continue to suffer as a result of state lawmakers’ shortsightedness in allowing UVU to grow so rapidly. A school like USU, which offers a far superior level of education, suffers because the school to the south siphons off funding, using the excuse that they’re fulfilling a service for an underserved growing area.
What it turns out to be at the end of the day is a ton of money going to an extremely mediocre institution, allowing said mediocre institution to provide a half assed education to its students, while the other schools in the state suffer and thus have to provide a less quality education to students.
In short, UVU is a major thorn in the tookus of every other school in the state of Utah.
Source: UVU’s perfect storm? Budget cuts, enrollment growth stall progress – Salt Lake Tribune.
Tyler you really hit the bullseye with this…this is exactly what I’ve been saying regarding all UVU posts on here for a while.
UVU is nothing more than 13th grade for a growing number of SL and Happy Valley high school graduates. Degrees from there are garbage, as is the education.
…and in the end, that makes sense. U of U and USU are the (at least officially) flagship public education institutions of the state. USU being the land-grant option. These are institutions that should and deserve to be placed at a higher budgetary priority.
And now, what a surprise the poorly planned vision of UVU is collapsing under the negligence and stupidity that propped it up.
…Bah. I guess I’m living up to my moniker on this topic.
The problem with UVU (and to some degree Weber State and Dixie College at one time) is that they want to be all things to all people. Utah is not in a position financially to be able to do that.
Additionally, as long as BYU remains in Provo, and as its admission standards continue to increase based on demand, there will always be a place for UVU. Is is a natural spill over for people who want the BYU experience but can’t/don’t want to attend BYU.
Eric,
That’s exactly right. And what both the schools and Utah fail to realize is that they’d be much better off tailoring the school to fill a niche, which is what UVSC WAS doing already. Few states if any are in a position financially to fund 5+ “Universities” that can get any student any degree they please…and a quality one at that.
Seems like we’ve had this discussion before, Tyler. Methinks UVU is a wrong choice as your White Whale. Here’s why:
- Even after receiving funding for university status, UVU still receives the fewest state dollars per student among all USHE institutions.
- Some USHE schools are state-funded as much as 85% of their total budgets. UVU is below 50%, meaning students and donors bear a proportionally higher burden for the cost of education. I have a hard time understanding why UVU is the problem. If you want a culprit, look to the dead weight.
- Where were the cries of shortsightedness when the Legislature approved USTAR? UVU’s $10 million pales in comparison to USTAR’s $250 million.
- UVU returns $6 to Utah’s economy for every state dollar it receives, and it serves a market three times the size of Cache County. (BYU’s admissions are increasingly out of state and international.)
- University status for UVU is not the impetus for USU’s problems, or any other state-funded school for that matter. Every USHE institution was cut.
- UVU is the furthest thing from a generic school among all the USHE institutions. It’s focus on hands-on learning fills a critical need — employers across the state look to UVU grads as career-ready.