Facing rising college costs, more Gen Z students like Penelope Masotti are choosing skilled trades for financial stability. Masotti plans to study cosmetology after graduation, joining a growing shift away from traditional four-year degrees.
Utah State University will restructure its academic programs—including several large-scale mergers and a still unknown number of employee layoffs—in order to make up lost funds from the state’s budgets cuts for higher education.
Utah State University will start a pilot program to overhaul general education curriculum with the new focus. That’s expected to be expanded to schools statewide by 2029.
Utah’s university and college presidents need to better scrutinize what programs they offer—and should cut those that are not graduating students, leading to high-paying jobs or supporting the state’s workforce needs, according to a critical new audit.
While University of Utah President Taylor Randall and other leaders stressed the value of a college degree, they also emphasized the institution needs to fit the student. Individualization, Randall said, is the key to success.
