Education
The Gardner Institute employs a senior education analyst and a team of demographers and economists knowledgeable about Utah’s education policies and economy. We also benefit from an Education Advisory Council that guides our research agenda and supports the development of an education policy practice area. Our focus includes K-12 and higher education research, analysis, and reporting related to education policies, Utah demographics, public finance, and the economy.
Utah’s Research Universities: Definition, Benefits, and Reach
Utah features two prominent research universities: the University of Utah, the state’s flagship university, and Utah State University, the state’s land-grant university. Research universities provide academic programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, emphasizing teaching, research, and outreach.
Economic Development Case Study: Utah’s Engineering and Computer Science Initiative
Utah has realized the following outcomes and benefits since the launch of Utah's engineering and computer science initiative more than two decades ago.
Policy Brief: The Value of Higher Education
Utah’s degree-granting institutions also train Utah’s workforce, generate significant economic contributions as major employers in the communities they serve, and create discoveries that improve life quality.
K-12 Teacher Shortages, Retention, and Salaries in Utah
While Utah’s teacher shortage, retention, and salary outcomes rank favorably among states, some data show potential warning signs.
Opportunity Knocks: The Fiscal Impacts of Declining School-age Population in Utah
Utah’s changing demographics, marked by a projected decline in the school-age population, present unique fiscal impacts and opportunities for state and local leaders.
Utah’s Pandemic Learning Loss
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted nearly every aspect of life, and K-12 education was no exception. In spring 2020, nearly all schools nationwide shifted to remote learning and many schools continued with full closures or hybrid schedules through the 2020-2021 school year.
A Visual Guide to Tax Modernization: Individual Income Tax in Utah
Utahns share a common interest in a state and local tax system that provides for our needs, keeps the economy strong, and remains viable over the long term. This visual guide, which is the fourth in a series, illustrates key components of Utah’s income tax – the fastest growing and most volatile major tax.
Utah’s School- and College-Age Populations: 2021 Long-Term Planning Projection Update
The age detail provided in the long-term planning projections published by the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute illustrates how changes in age structure and declines in births impact the school (5-to-17-year-old) and college (18-to-24-year-old) age populations throughout the state over the next four decades.
Utah’s Engineering and Computer Science Workforce
Innovative engineering and computer science professionals— along with the higher education institutions that prepare many of them for the workforce—create vast economic and societal value for Utah
Utah’s Economically Disadvantaged Students and Higher Education
Many economically disadvantaged Utahns never enroll in higher education. Those that do are less likely to complete their degree or certificate than those who are not economically disadvantaged. Economic disadvantage is measured in a variety of ways but this report focuses primarily on an individual's family income from childhood, measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch.
