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.”
Utah State has proposed a list of 36 programs to cut that the university said had low enrollment. The institution saw about $12.6 million in budget reductions from the state, and program eliminations resulted in about $3.2 million in savings. Disinvestments claimed 120 full-time positions — 67 of those were faculty.
Utah Valley University cut 30 programs, which included several woodworking and automation-technology courses. The university is reallocating almost 10 percent of its lost funds toward expanding artificial-intelligence initiatives, including its new Applied AI Institute.
Salt Lake Community College proposed to cut 48 programs, 237 courses, and 50 positions, resulting in more savings than the legislature asked them to produce. More than $2 million will go to technical programs in the School of Professional and Technical Specialties, and hundreds of thousands will go to the business school and the health-sciences school.
Weber State cut 35 programs and 49 faculty, staff, and administrator positions. The university also reorganized, moving programs into different schools. The report did not include specific areas of reallocation but listed descriptions like “health professions areas of high need.”
Snow College, expected to cut the least amount of all 8 colleges, is eliminating five positions and eight programs, including French, Italian, and media studies. Savings from those cuts will go toward expanding seven academic programs, including prison education, elementary education, and its commercial-driver’s-license program.
Utah Tech University is discontinuing a contract with an online-instruction platform, reducing staff and faculty, merging its College of the Arts and College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and eliminating its bachelors degrees in Spanish education and theatre directing. The university’s reinvestment priorities include the college of business, engineering, psychology, health sciences, and a program in digital media and animation, the report says.
Southern Utah University is eliminating 24 academic programs and 25 positions. Its report emphasizes five areas of work-force needs it will invest in: business, STEM, innovative tech, education, and healthcare. The university is creating a coordinator for career and internship placement to work with students in each of those areas.
Gretchen Ellefson, an assistant professor of philosophy at Southern Utah University, thinks the budget cuts disproportionately affected the liberal arts at her college. “I think we’re going to see the same thing throughout the state,” she added. Philosophy at Southern Utah was eliminated as a major, but courses will still be offered to students who want to earn a minor.
Melina Alexander, a professor of special education at Weber State, also thought the cuts slanted toward the humanities and social sciences. She directs the minor in women and gender Studies and queer studies, both of which were eliminated. “When I heard that my programs were on the chopping block, I was a bit disappointed, saddened and confused on why those were eliminated,” said Alexander, who noted that courses in the minors were taught by faculty in other departments, making her program “minimal in cost.”
Alexander said that while it is necessary for colleges to examine where resources could be better used, “everybody was scrambling in the last short period of time to make decisions that impact students and impact Utah.”
Nearly 80 percent of reinvestment dollars across all public colleges are going toward instruction and research spending, which is largely supported by disinvestments in activities categorized as “academic and institutional support,” according to the system’s memo.
In August, colleges’ plans will go to legislative committees for approval.
