Utah’s higher education budget will see some changes in 2025

Dec 5, 2024, 4:00 PM

FILE: Gov. Gov. Spencer J. Cox speaks while Sophia M. DiCaro, executive director of the Governor's ...

FILE: Gov. Gov. Spencer J. Cox speaks on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024. (Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

(Laura Seitz, Deseret News)

Associate Producer

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah System of Higher Education is considering budget changes after a recommendation from Gov. Spencer Cox.

The $178.3 million allocated for higher education in the governor’s proposed budget would come with some strings attached.

Gov. Cox said the budget, as it stands now, doesn’t cut education funds. Instead, he said the focus is to reallocate funds to ensure money goes to programs that make more sense for the state.

On Wednesday Gov. Cox told the KSL and Deseret News editorial board he wants to move money from programs that don’t feed into needed job forces in Utah to programs that do.

Utah System of Higher Education commissioner Geoff Landward said they’re going to look at multiple factors to determine where to reallocate the money.

“Wage outcomes would be one. Workforce demand would be one. Maybe enrollment in graduate school for particular programs would be another. There’s also things like social workers and schoolteachers. Whose wages are unfortunately aren’t the highest in the state but serve a critical need.”

Landward said there’s still a lot to figure out.

“How does this work? What would be the criteria for reinvesting the appropriated funds? How do we do this over a course of time where we have students enrolled in courses? And things like that.”

The plan is to work with legislative leadership to figure out what’s next.

“The Legislature takes money and puts it in a restricted account and then reinvests it in higher education. But it does so on criteria saying ‘where do we get the most return on investment for the students and taxpayers,'” said Landward.

Gov. Cox said he expects the legislature to take up some of those priorities in January, eventually re-establishing who does what when it comes to what college programs are approved and which are cut. He said he is very supportive of the legislature having a heavier hand in deciding those cuts.