Utah's public colleges may face budget cuts in 2025

SALT LAKE CITY — A struggle pitting Utah state lawmakers against higher education leaders could be developing in the weeks leading up to the 2025 legislative general session.

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz is pushing for budget cuts and other reforms at public colleges and universities in the state, in the hopes of saving the state money and making college more accessible to more students. So far, higher ed administrators haven't publicly discussed the possible budget cuts, instead saying they're still having discussions with state lawmakers.

Any such cuts would sting Utah's publicly funded colleges, but Schultz said he thinks cuts don't need to be passed along to students through tuition hikes.

The state speaker fires off a list of issues he classifies as "inefficiencies" and "challenges" inside the state's 16 higher education institutions that he would like to see remedied in the upcoming session:

• The rising cost of higher education and resulting rising student loans.
• Enrollment logjams in high-industry-demand majors such as nursing and engineering.
• Declining Utah enrollment forecasts.
• Bachelor's degrees taking too long to earn.
• And, finally, costly low-participation degree programs.

With the 2024 elections now in the rearview mirror, Schultz, R-Hooper, and his colleagues can now focus on the fast-approaching 2025 legislative session. Count on higher-education funding to be one of the most closely watched debates on Capitol Hill this January.

Each year, Utah lawmakers funnel large amounts of tax dollars to the state's public colleges and universities.

"And I'm good with that as long as we're getting the right outcomes," Schultz told the Deseret News. "But if we're not getting the right outcomes, the question has to be asked: 'Do we still subsidize at the same level that we've been subsidizing at?'

"I think you can make the argument that you don't."

So how much of a possible budget cut can the state's universities and colleges anticipate?

That's to be determined, Schultz said.

"I don't have enough information yet to make a final determination on what I think those numbers ought to be … it's a bit fluid," he said.

Schultz said that any legislative cuts to Utah's higher-education institutions should not be the same "across the board."

He points to jumps in administrative cost per student at, say, the University of Utah and Salt Lake Community College as being substantially higher than at Southern Utah University. According to the speaker, cost-per-student administrative costs at the University of Utah and SLCC over the past nine years rose 112% and 143%, respectively. SUU, according to Schultz, saw its cost per student rise just 20%.

"So we would maybe look at a higher (subsidy cut) percentage for some schools and a lower percentage number for others," he said.

Universities, colleges watching Legislature closely

Obviously, leaders at the helm of the state's 16 colleges and universities and the state's Utah System of Higher Education will be watching the upcoming legislative session closely.

Geoffrey Landward, the state's commissioner of higher education, said he's already fielded several inquires about potential cuts or subsidy reallocations. And he's enjoyed ongoing communication with lawmakers. "To be candid, it's been a good process."

One of the Board of Higher Education's key priorities, noted Landward, is to deliver a quality education at the lowest cost possible for students. The upcoming debates on Capitol Hill "are opportunities within all of our institutions to look at each individual program major and assess whether or not they're providing value to the students in the state."

Landward noted that legislative leadership has actively engaged his office and the Board of Higher Education in their ongoing discussions as they move toward the general session.

"I want to ensure that while we look for ways to serve citizens of the state better and get a better return on investment to the taxpayers, I also don't want to have unintentional harm happen to higher education because it is critical to the success and well-being and prosperity of the state and its citizens."

There's room for improvement in higher education, added Landward. "We can be more strategic in how we invest funds going into our programs. ... I'm optimistic that we'll make the right decisions and do it in the right way."

Landward identifies the "best cast scenario" for Utah higher education, post-legislative session, "as just being more strategic about how we're using the money that we're given — and that we haven't taken any kind of drastic cut that substantially undermines our ability to meet our mission."

For now, University of Utah President Taylor Randall "is in ongoing discussions with legislative leaders," said university spokeswoman Rebecca Walsh.

Meanwhile, the office of Salt Lake Community College President Greg Peterson said it's too early for the president to comment on any possible legislative actions.

Neither Utah Gov. Spencer Cox nor State Senate President Stuart Adams responded to requests for comments.

Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, the House chairwoman for the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee, said she is a believer in the state's higher-education institutions. They are the state's most "important economic driver" and, she said, a "critical element" of Utah's workforce development.

"So we're in a really good place to have conversations about what's working in higher education for our state and for students — and ask what we can do to even make that better going forward," she said.

Read the entire story at Deseret.com.

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