Letter from President Albrecht Regarding Online Public Hearing

Dear faculty, staff and students,

I invite you to participate in a unique opportunity to provide your input to the Utah Board of Regents about the future of Higher Education in Utah. The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education and the Board of Regents have launched a highly interactive website for this purpose at: www.higheredutah2020.org.

On this site you can provide your comments to help shape the updated master plan for higher education in Utah. The best ideas will be considered for the final product, which will become part of a broader effort to increase educational opportunities for Utah citizens.

This opportunity comes on the heels of a visit to our campus a few weeks ago by William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland. He is a nationally recognized authority on critical issues shaping the higher education landscape — from access and affordability to the costs of competing in big-time intercollegiate sports.

During his two presentations on our campus, it became very clear that issues facing higher education in Utah and the nation are numerous and complex. Nevertheless, higher education has been a catalyst for growth and prosperity in Utah and our nation and will continue to be with the help of our best thinking.

The growing demand for a college education in Utah is underscored by a report issued by the Georgetown University Center of Education. That document states that by 2020, 66 percent of jobs in Utah will require education beyond high school with 55 percent of that number holding at least an associate’s degree.

I encourage you to help us address these future demands for higher education by letting your voice be heard through this innovative public forum. The Utah System of Higher Education’s goal is for 55 percent of the workforce to have an associate’s degree or higher by 2020 compared to 39 percent today. We all have a direct stake in this. This is a chance for us to help shape the Regents’ plan and to share our best ideas for keeping our colleges and universities in Utah viable and valuable enterprises.

Website features include:

PDFs of the latest draft of the HigherEd Utah 2020 Plan Case Statement and Action Plan
Opportunities for the public to contribute to the Case Statement and Action Plan Wiki
Voting on more than 70 ideas contained in the Action Plan
Public comment on each of the Action Plan areas and an opportunity for general comments
Direct contact with the Office of the Commissioner for Higher Education and Board of Regents via site forms, email or Facebook and Twitter links
Critical resources and in-depth information on Higher Education

Sincerely,

Stan L. Albrecht, president