Tougher standards for graduates urged

A member of the Governor's Office of Economic Development Board is pushing its members to draft a resolution that would recommend tighter high school graduation requirements to better prepare Utah students for the job market and improve the state's work force.

Richard Nelson, a member of the GOED board and president and chief executive of the Utah Technology Council, said in order to meet market demand, more high school graduates need to be better prepared to pursue areas of study in engineering and the sciences that will qualify them for high-paying jobs.

On Friday, the board agreed to work on a draft resolution that will be sent to the Utah Board of Education.

Specifically, Nelson would like to see high school graduation requirements include three years of math, three years of science and four years of English.

Utah is one of 13 states that require only two years of math for graduation, Nelson said. Most states require three years. Five states require four math courses for graduation.

The Utah Technology Council already has sent a letter to the education board, urging it to raise the requirements. "If Utah does not increase requirements," Nelson said in the letter, "our state's ability to produce competitive, college-prepared high school graduates will be seriously impaired."

Nelson added that the Utah Technology Council's Board of Trustees is very concerned about Utah's educational system's ability to provide qualified workers for Utah's technology industry in the future.

"With the rapid growth of Utah's technology industry," Nelson said in the letter, "employers who are unable to hire enough qualified engineers and scientists from Utah's colleges and universities will be forced to relocate elsewhere, damaging Utah's ability to compete as an attractive place to do business."

Nelson said a big problem for high school graduates is their ability to write. "This issue needs more endorsement from a broad spectrum," he said.

While high school graduation requirements may need to be raised, students in Utah and across the United States appear less interested in science and math careers. For instance, the number of mining engineering graduates in the country has fallen to just 100 a year. And just one-third of the available mining engineering jobs are filled each year.

"Math is hard, and science is tough," said Kim McCarter, professor and chairman of the University of Utah's mining department. "Many young people say, 'Let's do something that will make us money and not be as hard.' "

McCarter said he also endorses raising science and math requirements for Utah high school graduates. About 40 undergraduate students and six graduate students are currently enrolled in mining engineering at the U. Roughly five to 10 students graduate from the U. in mining engineering each year, down from a peak of 30 graduates annually in past years.

Mining engineers graduating with a bachelor's degree can expect a starting salary of $50,000 to $60,000. Utah's technology industry employs 60,000 workers in jobs that pay an average annual wage that is 66 percent higher than the statewide average annual wage of $32,890.

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