Regents OK a new degree at Dixie

ST. GEORGE — The State Board of Regents on Friday approved a request by Dixie State College to begin offering a new bachelor's degree in communications and new media this fall.

The four-year program will offer digital motion picture production and broadcast, business/corporate communications, and Web design, publishing and online journalism.

"These graduates will be skilled professionals, not trained technicians," according to college officials in a report presented to the regents.

Washington County is growing so fast that DSC is finding it difficult to meet the needs of its projected student population and the community, the report states.

"I grew up in Tooele County and it is also significantly underserved in terms of higher education," said Lee Caldwell, DSC vice president of academics. "But it's also true that we have over 100,000 people in Washington County, and are still sustaining one of the highest growth rates in the country. The magnitude of the challenge for Dixie is different than what it is for Tooele County."

Regent Jim Jardine said there's no question that Washington County's growth rates are impressive.

"It's not a contest of who's growing the fastest," Jardine said. "Part of what we're trying to do is respond to the needs of the students throughout the state. We have to find a rational way to meet the needs with the resources we have."

Dixie State College officials provided numerous growth statistics to back up their request for the new communications/new media degree including several stats from state agencies.

Among the findings offered to the regents:

• The Utah Department of Workforce Services project 170 new communications/new media related jobs in Washington County each year between 2002 and 2012.

• Utah Workforce Services projects an annual demand in Utah of more than 4,000 communications/new media-related jobs, and another 3,000 in southern Nevada.

• Utah Occupational Projections for the same time period shows 10 occupational specialties related to the degree that are rated high in need, salary and demand.

While the regents' vote favored DSC and its proposal, Commissioner Richard Kendell reminded college officials to focus on core disciplines.