Parents who wish or hope that their children will one day attend college may want to bookmark four Web sites that can help them plan for the future.
They're sites Utah Commissioner of Higher Education, Rich Kendell, says are useful for young people who are trying to figure out where to attend college and what path of study to choose.
"We've got to somehow get people planning earlier," he said.
The sites are:
www.utahmajors.org (information on more than 1,200 certificate and degree programs).
www.careers.utah.gov (connects the dots between majors and available jobs).
www.utahcte.org (provides information on career/technical education at each of Utah's 10 institutions).
www.utahmentor.org (a student planning site sponsored by the Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority).
To a lot of high school students, $12 per hour seems like a good wage, Kendell said. But over the course of 35 years in the job market, the picture changes, and the earning potential between high school and college graduates greatly increases. Over the past decade, that gap has accelerated at an even greater rate, Kendell added.
The Web sites appeal to students and busy parents who may not have the time to schedule meetings with guidance counselors. By visiting the Web sites, students can learn early on about admission requirements for college and other academic expectations.
The site www.utahmajors.org is the result of a $20,000 grant from the Utah Education Network and an estimated $5,000 worth of donated time and resources from the University of Utah Office of Information Technology. A key component to this site is that when students find a program they like, there is contact information that will lead them people who can provide more help.
By linking www.careers.utah.gov with the Utah Department of Workforce Services, students can see a list of occupations for a specific degree, find out about salaries and search current job openings.
"That to me is the most valuable thing to them," said Cynthia Grua, director of distance education for the Utah System of Higher Education.
Grua said the career site's unique partnership with Workforce Services is a way to navigate the job market and its connection to higher education by — in cyber terms — moving from one room to the next without having to exit one and then (through searching the Internet) go down a long hallway to access another.
"We're allowing you to sneak through the closet," she said.
E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com