Added funding sought to push tech education

Public higher education needs more state funding for an initiative intended to produce more graduates in the fields of engineering and computer science.

While the number of computer-science graduates nationally is down, Utah has shown an increase due to the initiative, according to John Sutherland, chairman of the Technology Initiative Advisory Board.

In his presentation Wednesday to state lawmakers, Sutherland said the United States is actually lagging 10 to 1 behind China and India in the number of technology graduates.

"Technology will be key to economic development," Sutherland told the Education Interim Committee. "These numbers and these trends are disturbing."

Higher education officials will be asking the 2006 Legislature to put in another $4.5 million for the initiative.

Since 2002, the state has spread $10.5 million over nine campuses with programs in computer science and engineering. The University of Utah has received more than $4 million from the state and Utah State University has been given about $2.7 million.

One result has been a nearly 12.4 percent increase in computer-science degrees and 33.5 percent more engineering graduates, according to the Technology Board's four-page report.

The goal when the initiative began was to double the number of engineering graduates by 2006. Since 2000, only the number of master's degrees in engineering have almost doubled — add in associate, bachelor's and doctorate degrees and the overall percentage of increase drops to less than 34 percent. Rep. John Dougall, R-American Fork, said he has heard anecdotally that schools are lowering their admission requirements to get more engineering students.

Sutherland said he thought that wasn't the case and that he would give the committee a report on the matter at another meeting.

Sutherland also said public education is doing more to prepare students in math and science for a college career. More and more Utah companies, he added, are looking for engineering graduates, who start out making between $45,000 and $60,000 a year.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com