Higher Education Attainment

The Higher Education Attainment spoke focuses on increasing participation and completion rates of all women in Utah, including at the certificate, associate, bachelor, and graduate levels. This also includes a specific focus on women from marginalized populations. Although increasing the rates of postsecondary attainment is important for all residents—including men—it is critical to consider future initiatives and initiatives by gender. This spoke will include affiliates and participants across the state with all institutions of higher learning. It will also include additional voices, initiatives, and organizations that focus on increasing rates of women attending immediately after high school (particularly women of color), retaining female students, removing barriers, supporting completion, encouraging reengagement, and increasing aspirations for graduate education among Utah women and girls. Subspokes within the Higher Education Attainment spoke are focused on: Barriers & Resources, Policy, and Research.To learn more, check out the resource box below.

Spoke Leaders

Bryn Ramjoue

Marketing Director, my529
LinkedIn Profile

Bryn Ramjoue’ Marketing Director for my529, Utah’s college savings plan. She serves on the CSPN Communications Committee. Her own SEM includes Who’s Who, a 40 under 40, a marketing person of the year, and a 30 Women to Watch.

Eric Dahlin

Professor, BYU
LinkedIn Profile

Eric Dahlin is a sociology professor at BYU. His research and teaching activities center on the social impacts of innovation.

Bold Vision & Goals

To make Utah a place where more girls and women can thrive, the Higher Education Attainment spoke leaders and partners have crafted the vision and goals below.

Vision: Boldly increase the participation and completion rates of Utah women at the certificate, associate, bachelor, and graduate levels.

Goals:

Increase the college-going rate of female high school grads by:
1. Increasing the enrollment of first-time, degree-seeking female students 1.5% by 2026 and 3.0% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
2. Increasing the enrollment of girls and women in technical college certificate programs. [Metric Dashboard]
Increase female students’ ability to pay the cost of attendance by:
1. Increasing FAFSA completion rates in Utah by 5% in 2026 and 10% in 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
Increase the number of degrees and certificates awarded to women 8% by 2026 and 20% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
1. Increase the number of STEM degrees and certificates awarded to women (in support of STEM Fields Spoke Goal #1). [Metric Dashboard]
2. Increase the number of women awarded graduate degrees 4% by 2026 and 8% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
Shift Utahns’ agreement (understanding and perceptions) in the following areas: [Metric Dashboard]
1. In addition to improving economic opportunity, higher education is also important for intellectual growth, personal development, and life-long societal contributions. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030]
2. College is worth the financial investment. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030]
3. It is important for more Utah women to complete graduate degree programs. [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030]
4. It is important for all those considering attending college to apply for federal financial aid (FAFSA). [Increase agreement by 5% by 2026 and 10% by 2030]
Increase female participation in college education during high school by:
1. Increasing female enrollment in concurrent enrollment by 3% by 2026 and 5% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]
2. Increasing female enrollment in technical college dual enrollment by 2% by 2026 and 4% by 2030. [Metric Dashboard]

Thriving Statement: Women and girls thrive when they can aspire to and have access and opportunity to complete postsecondary education at all levels, no matter their backgrounds or previous life experiences.

Resources & Research

Spoke Resources:

Other Resources:

Research:

Partners

Subspokes

Barriers & Resources: Stefanie Adams (Director, Regional Pathways/Workforce Alignment, Utah Valley University), Rachel Bryson (Assistant Professor, University of Utah) & Kara Vail (Upward Bound Manager, TRIO at the University of Utah)
Policy: Fiona Hayes (CEO, ViewPoint Simulations, Inc.) & Maile Marriott (Graduate Research Assistant, The University of Texas at Austin)
Research: Eric Dahlin (Professor, BYU)

What You Can Do

Talk to the prospective students you know – and their families – about their perceptions of and plans for college. Gauge their interest, share information about college options and resources, and dispel myths you hear about higher education.

Encourage FAFSA completion; talk to the prospective college students and families you know about FAFSA and offer to help them complete it. Also, talk to your local high school to see when it offers FAFSA completion events and ask how you can best help spread the word and encourage attendance.

Expose the young people you know to real-world occupations by connecting them with the working professionals you know. These professionals might be able to engage in conversation, offer mentorship, or provide job shadowing opportunities aligned with the student’s academic and career interests, which could help influence their decision to pursue a postsecondary credential.

Get Engaged: Ways to get engaged include joining an existing working group, co-leading a working group, creating a new working group, being a part of our strategic conversations with our county communities, and joining our mailing list . To get involved please complete this form and email courtney.bwf@gmail.com. Thank you for your interest!

Courtney Harris

Spoke Coordinator
LinkedIn Profile
courtney.bwf@gmail.com