Board of Trustees discuss funding and growth

The UVU Board of Trustees met Jan. 14 to discuss the current goals and affairs of the university. A common theme throughout the meeting was that UVU is currently the largest university in the state, and the institution needs funding to match this title. The new campus buildings, including a proposed performing and visual arts venue, are a result of the steady growth in UVU’s student enrollments.

“We will embrace (being a growth institution) and be creative and as innovative as any institution in the land, but we’ve got to be met doing that halfway by the state,” President Matthew Holland said, “And, if we don’t get that support for growth money, that forces us to put pressure on tuition, raise those prices and start to work against our (mission) of serving some of our most underserved students.”

Holland stated that fifty percent of state funding is calculated by the university’s ability to produce graduates with a first-time, four year degree. This figure is based off the graduation rates recorded six years ago.

“Six years ago we were just barely a university,” Holland said. “We had a half to a third of the bachelors degrees we have today—it’s a very different reflection.”

The discrepancy between UVU’s current graduation figures and the graduation figures of 2009 is problematic when it comes to the institution receiving all of its potential state funding.

University administration is working tirelessly to get the help UVU feels its needs to accomplish growth goals.

“We encourage you to engage with the legislators you have a relationship with, and engage them in a meaningful way,” Cameron Martin, vice president of University Relations said.

“Having more funding will be the thing that most helps us achieve our mission,” Holland said.