Colleges, universities may recruit heavily education majors
The topic of teacher education is one of many regarding the state of higher education in Utah that the Board of Regents will discuss at its annual planning meeting today and Friday at Dixie State College.
"This discussion sets the stage for some really important work to be done on the shortage of teachers in Utah," said Rich Kendell, Utah commissioner of higher education. He said certain teaching specialties will be focused on, to provide public education with the teachers needed for an increased capacity.
The push follows increasing concern about a teacher shortage in Utah. In recent years, similar initiatives have been launched to bolster the state's nursing and engineering programs.
David Sperry, a scholar in residence for the Utah System of Higher Education and chairman of a joint task force asked to study the teacher shortage, will present a report on its findings, as well as recommendations to help solve Utah's K-12 teacher shortage.
The task force — made up of representatives from the Utah State Board of Regents and Utah State Board of Education — has identified five sources of additional teachers, which includes those graduating from both Utah's public and private colleges but also out-of-state recruitment. Alternative licensing programs could also help lure more teachers as well as identifying those whose teaching licenses may have expired.
Also just as important, the task force found, is the rate of compensation, which includes salaries, as well as the number or work days and paid time off.
Utah's K-12 teacher salaries were found to lag behind comparable markets by about 10 to 15 percent. The deficit for math and science teachers was even worse — lagging nearly 30 behind the national comparison.
Although the shortage has been a topic of discussion before, this is the first the regents will hear of the task force's findings.
In addition to that, and other policy decisions, the regents will be discussing the future of Dixie State College. The school hopes to put more emphasis on its four-year degrees, but state officials want the St. George college to maintain its community college atmosphere.
"Between Salt Lake and Las Vegas, it's the only college that offers the full range of community college functions," Kendell said, adding that Dixie's eight existing four-year programs offer students great opportunity.
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