Nationally, higher education has experienced a barrage of criticism. That includes plummeting public confidence, campus unrest, enrollment declines, skyrocketing costs, burdensome debt and degrees that don’t lead to productive jobs.
I’d argue, however, that much of this scorn derives from practices at institutions outside of Utah. Can you name an Ivy League school, an elite West Coast institution or regional campus in the Midwest that has made significant contributions to Utah’s economic success?
Making broad generalizations fails to recognize the roles individual institutions make in their region. What if someone broke away from the negative narratives of distant institutions and instead measured colleges and universities for promoting individual opportunity and supporting economic and cultural vibrancy in communities? What would a successful institution of higher education look like?
Turns out, it looks a lot like Weber State.
Last fall, the U.S. Department of Education launched a program to recognize innovative colleges and universities that were reimagining post-secondary education to remove barriers and graduate more students.
Starting with a pool of 6,751 schools, Weber State was one of only 200 (less than 3% nationwide) to make the grade — and the only institution in Utah. In fact, our recognition was in the “predominantly associates” category, indicating Weber State’s continuing commitment to serve both the two-year and four-year education needs of our region.
While WSU didn’t end up as one of the six Postsecondary Success Recognition Program winners, our inclusion on the top 200 list prompted the president of the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities to ask me to write an article for the commission’s newsletter. Space constraints prevent me from sharing the full article, but the highlights are instructive.
The Department of Education program wanted to showcase institutions that used data to inform decisions that benefit students, like WSU’s efforts to support students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, improve completion rates, remove obstacles to success, lower costs and provide needed resources.
Knowing the cost of college is a significant barrier, WSU reduces the expense by making courses available to students while they’re still in high school. Weber State offers 130 Concurrent Enrollment courses to Utah high school students at just $5 per credit hour, far lower than the cost of tuition. These students can graduate from high school with a certificate or associate’s degree, which significantly reduces how long — and how much — it will take to earn their bachelor’s degree.
A recent Cicero Group study showed that Utah employers seek college graduates with durable skills to meet workforce needs. The survey recommended that schools have advisory boards with business and industry representation to ensure grads are well prepared.
At Weber State, we’ve long valued counsel from business leaders to inform the courses and skills being taught, and most of our students are required to complete one or more “high-impact educational experiences” prior to graduation: internships, clinical rotations, community service, leadership opportunities, research or senior projects. These experiences produce industry-ready graduates, especially in high-demand fields like the health professions, computer science and engineering.
Higher education has a reputation for being slow to change and clinging to tradition. But at Weber State, we asked, “Are we part of the problem?” Did existing structures and processes create unnecessary impediments for students?
Taking an unvarnished look at how we operated helped us identify and remove roadblocks. Last fall, we dropped application fees and forms, directly admitted 10,000 high school seniors and streamlined pathways for students transferring from technical colleges into degree programs.
We’ve hired 60% more academic advisors and now every first-time student meets with an advisor. Student communication efforts have expanded to include direct texts and chatbots. We’ve revamped and now require new student orientation, which equips students with information and tools for success.
Over the past five years, we’ve made significant gains in our student success efforts by actively monitoring enrollment and outreach strategies, and measuring our progress. Our six-year bachelor’s degree completion rate increased by 12 percentage points over this timeframe, with the greatest gains seen for low-income and first-generation students.
Since 2019, we’ve met our goal to close eight-year completion gaps for first-generation students from 7% to 4%, and students receiving federal financial aid are graduating at the same rate as their peers.
These improvements are gratifying, as is this national recognition. Even so, we still have too many students who don’t complete their degrees. Students still slip through the cracks, or never even start. We need to continue to assess and refine our processes so they too can earn a degree and contribute to the next generation of Utah’s success.
Many of our national counterparts have earned the criticism directed at them, but when we make broad judgments about an entire sector based on a few bad actors, we might not notice the successes happening in our own backyard.
(Brad Mortensen)
Brad Mortensen is president of Weber State, which has been repeatedly recognized for its top-ranked affordability and strong return on investment for graduates.
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