Once again, the evidence clearly points to the need for more vocational and technical education in Utah.
The Utah Vocational Council, meeting recently in St. George, highlighted statistics that indicate too many Utah students still seek college preparation, while the jobs are increasingly in fields that require technical preparation.In reality, not as many of the state's high school graduates enter college as their intent statements indicate. While nearly three-fourths say they are college-bound, the number that actually enroll is far fewer, and in the first two years of college, the attrition rate is high.
In the end, less than 25 percent actually earn a baccalaureate degree - and that's about the number needed to fill professional positions in the state.
Forty percent of the jobs available to Utahns require less than six months of training. That means, technically, that they are being trained in high school - but, unfortunately, not well enough.
Sen. Haven Barlow, R-Layton, long an advocate for vocational-technical education, recognizes the lack. "We must provide job entry skills to the 40-50 percent of our non-college bound students. Many of the jobs available to them now pay more than those available to college graduates."
Utah's public education system is making a philosophical shift that recognizes the need for more vocational-technical training. During budget deliberations last fall, there was significant effort to increase funding for programs and support systems.
The State Board of Education determined to push for funding of 100 percent of the demand that actually exists in the public schools. For years, that demand has been underfunded.
Not all of the board's requests were funded by the Legislature, but vocational education did get the largest increase of any single program in the public education budget, aside from the demands of growth in the system.
State Office of Education objectives include providing more vocational counselors to help guide students toward appropriate training, more job-oriented courses and possibly even job placement directly from high school. More courses in non-traditional, before- or after-school hours or in the summer are likely.
While public education works toward more market-driven vocational-technical education, Utah's higher education system seems headed in the opposite direction.
The state's two community colleges, originally technical schools with the prime mission of providing job preparation in vocational fields, have consistently diluted that role in favor of general education with the intent of preparing students for transfer to a four-year school.
At Salt Lake Community College, for instance, more than 96 percent of the students in 1978-79 were enrolled in vocational-technical courses. In 1989-90, the percentage had shrunk to 63.4 percent. At Utah Valley Community College, the percentage is even smaller this academic year, at 50.1 percent.
The community colleges, obviously, are responding in part to the growing pressures on the four-year institutions. As demands grow and funding becomes more critical, the larger schools are considering enrollment caps and encouraging students to begin college at the smaller schools.
Although the State Board of Regents has said repeatedly that providing university status for Weber State and Southern Utah State colleges will not significantly change their roles within the total system, it appears inevitable that they will become more academically oriented over time. Simply meeting the accreditation standards as universities would be a factor moving them in that direction.
Advancing maturity in the higher education system is not bad in itself, but the need for vocational-technical education must not get lost in the process.
If the two-year colleges are going to become preparatory schools for the four-year institutions, perhaps the role of the area vocational centers (soon to become applied technology centers) should be upgraded to meet the realities of Utah's job market.