Senator Urquhart to Kick-Off Higher Ed Reform Campaign at SUU

Published: October 25, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minutes

State Senator Steve Urquhart will hold an open meeting on campus this Thursday to discuss new plans to reform higher education in the state of Utah. This meeting will be the first in a state-wide series of open meetings to address emerging needs and concerns in the state’s higher education system.

In his plan which was unveiled last week, Senator Urquhart outlines five areas that he believes are in need of adjustment— college/career readiness, cost, flexibility, student progress and governance. Urquhart sees these areas as presenting great opportunity for improvement and growth in a system which he believes has “an excellent foundation on which to build.”

Urquhart seeks to gather information, critiques, ideas and suggestions on higher ed reform during his meetings throughout Utah in the next few weeks. He hopes to have a second draft proposal in place for review at a meeting of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee in mid-November at the University of Utah. Urquhart’s ultimate goal is to publish a finalized plan before the Utah Legislature convenes in late January. “The hope is that this process can help form a solid higher education agenda for the 2012 legislative session,” Urquhart said.

The Senator’s kick-off meeting will take place on Thursday, October 27th, at 1:30 p.m. in the Sterling Church Auditorium. A schedule of additional meetings and other information related to Urquhart’s initiative may be found at www.steveu.com/blog/.

Senator Urquhart serves as co-chair of the Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee in the Utah Legislature. He has represented constituents from Washington County in the Utah State Senate since 2009. He previously served eight years in the Utah House of Representatives on behalf of Washington County.

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