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Show Westminster College of Salt Lake City Education Eeform Is Legislators T op Priority he J alike As Utah's forty-sixtlegislature battles the clock in the session, education is being made a top priority. Responding to the 1985 Nation at Risk" report, numerous items of reform for education have been initialed. The Public Education Ad Hoc Committee, constituted of lawmakers, was organized by Rep, Lloyd Krandsen. to address reform-relate- s by Den Vit- 45-da- y d ideas such as: book needs; outcome-base- year-roun- d d education: textschooling; elementary guidance counselors: class-siz- e teacher career ladders; contracts; school discipline and reduction; teaching th ol sus- pension proposals. The forty-sixt- h Working with the Public Education Standing Committee. the Education Appropriations Committee and the Public Education Committee, the Ad Hoc Panel prepared for debate. The outcome achieved is a hyped-u- p funding package and many minor changes which could have great impact on educational policies. A funding package for both public and higher education will increase the education budget by $117 million over the current fiscal year, a budget which has been generally agreed upon in the legislature, Publiceducation will receive $4.5 million for new textbooks and $8 million to help reduce classroom size. Higher education shall receive $5 million for special equity pay raises for faculty and staff. The Utah Legislature High Education Appropriations Committee has acted on campus spending plans. The committee has accepted their fiscal analysists proposals on all nine college and university budgets with minor exceptions. The nine colleges and universities which fall under the legislatures jurisdiction are University of Utah, Weber State College, Utah State University, Southern Utah State College, Dixie College, College of Eastern Utah, Snow College, Utah Technical College of Salt Lake and Utah Technical College of Provo. All colleges and universities will receive salary equity increases. Each school is targeted for bigger budgets for libraries, instructional equipment and program expansion. Seven of the nine colleges will receive funds for enrollment increases. Weber State and the University of Utah will not. legislature is currently convening at the State Capitol. Students will, however, have to pay a seven two percent tuition increase plus a percent surcharge for library improvements. One guiding principal that helps a legislator make a decision to appropriate funds is the weighted pupil unit. The weighted pupil units given to school districts on the basis of their enrollment represent the focal point of the states formula for allocating subsidies to local schools. Lawmakers have yet to assign a value to each weighted pupil unit for the upcoming school year causing delayed voting on some crucial educational issues. Many items of concern, however, have made it to the floor. Bills one-tim- e passed: (Krandsen) Encourage reforms for educational excellence efforts by community. (Moss) Establish a joint liaison between committee of public and higher education review and correlate matters of joint and mutual concern. (Moss) Provide for a tax credit of up to $25,000 for donation to the Utah Career teaching scholarship fund. (lingers) Provide for attorney general review of public school policy questions when law interpretation is required. House Bill 1G4 requiring local school boards to allow for reconsideration of voted leeway programs when capital outlay ievy fluctuates. Bills introduced: Establishing minimum teacher evaluation procedures guaranteeing teacher participation as well as a role for principals. (Walker) Provide a col lege preparation pilot program in high school as an alternative to college remedial programs. The mandatory scoliosis screening program in public schools be moved to a voluntary program. Drop the mandatory education age from five to three, offering early intervention programs for handicapped children to give them a head start on beginning their education. Lower the mandatory school attendance age from 18 to 1G. Future of Accounting Program Depends On House Legislation by Tummy Armantrout The future of the accounting program at Westminster College could be linked to the future of House Bill 2l), according to Mike Pieper, president of the Associated Students of Westminster College. If passed, the bill will repeal a portion of the Public Accountants Licensing Act, passed in 1981. This act requires that, as of 198G, those who want to take the exam necessary to become a CPA must have a bachelor's degree in accounting and have completed an additional 30 credit hours of upper division study. House Bill 20 would repeal the requirement for the additional, upper division credits, said Pieper. The Utah Association of Public Accountants is lobbying against the passage of House Bill 20, said Pieper. However, he added, it has recently passed through the Education Committee and, hopefully, will come up for debate in the near future. Presently, said Pieper, Westminster doesn't offer a masters program in accounting; he feels that is the bill doesnt pass, the extra requirements could jeopardize the future of the colleges accounting program. The bill is supported by the Utah Board of Regents and the Utah Student Association, added Pieper. The reasons he gives for their opposition to the current law include that its costs for students could exceed $25, UU0 per year, per student, in books, tuition, and lost opportunity costs. Also, there is considerable cost associated with establishing a program at many four year colleges. Another reason is that, after finishing their four years of education, manystudents would leave to one of the 45 other states that doesnt require an extra year of education. In an article that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, in the fall of 1983, members of the Board of Regents expressed some of their reservations about the law. post-gradua- te Referring to their concern at having to approve the addition of masters programs at Southern Utah State and Weber State colleges, of the board. Ernest D. Mari-an- i, The idea that were being forced to said, do this troubles me. I dont like being forced to to this because a professional association went to the Legislature and got them to pass a law." Vice-Chairm- that they (the Board) had to approve these programs to save the undergraduate He felt programs at the tw-- colleges. In an article for the Common Carrier section the Salt Lake Tribune, Oet. 2, 1983, Dennis P. Spackman, president of the UPAU, and K. Fred Skousen, director of the school of accounting at Brigham Young University, said that there are several reasons that the law should stand as it is. of They feel that, the dramatic expansion in the body of accounting knowledge, the changing structure and environment of accounting practice, and the potential benefits to society in the form or improved quality of accounting services, justify the need for the extra, advanced study. The other side of the argument is stated by Rodney F. Savage, a CPA from St. George. In an article for the Common Carrier, he states that, The emphasis in college should lie teaching the undergraduate accounting students how to learn and master new accounting principals after they graduate. Alan Rogers, Accounting program director at Westminster College, who has both his CPA and his masters degree in accounting, feels that the question here is, What's more important: more education or more experience? He feels that many students are ready to go on to employment after they have a completed a four year program. on When you go into public accounting you have two options." Rogers said. You can either do auditing or tax accounting." He feels that those wishing to specialize in tax accounting would benefit most from an extrayear in school, while those who wish logo into auditing would, usually, benefit more from added experience than added school. Inside This Issue Reagans proposed budget calls for drastic financial aid cuts page 2 Soccer team places first in tournament page 4 Passage to India, The Gods Must Be Movie Reviews: "A "Dune Crazy" and page 5 Teacher Profile: Accounting professor Alan Rogers page 7 Fewer students are applying to law schools, a recent study says, . . page 8 |