Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz is pushing for budget cuts and other reforms at public colleges and universities in the state, in the hopes of saving the state money and making college more accessible to more students. So far, higher ed administrators haven’t publicly discussed the possible budget cuts, instead saying they’re still having discussions with state lawmakers. One factor he points to in order to address the budget is cost-per-student administrative costs, which have increased at the following rate over the past nine years: 112% — University of Utah 143% — Salt Lake Community College 20% — Southern Utah University “So we would maybe look at a higher (subsidy cut) percentage for some schools and a lower percentage number for others,” he said. Will students be left footing the bill by increasing tuition costs to recover money lost to slashed legislative subsidies? "Not while I'm here," Schultz said. Read more about how Republican lawmakers are approaching the changing landscape of college education. More in Politics Utah outlier in presidential race but still shifts red (Deseret News) Election 2024 updates: Republicans win House, securing trifecta (Deseret News) Blake Moore reelected as vice chair of House Republican Conference (Deseret News) Can Trump make good on his pledge to scrap the Department of Education? (Deseret News) Trump picks Matt Gaetz for attorney general, he resigns House seat immediately (Deseret News) Biden promises a ‘smooth transition,’ welcomes Trump back to White House (Deseret News) County Council members face storm of criticism over proposed 20 percent tax hike (Cache Valley Daily) | 