This article originally appeared in the Money print issue, in stands March 2025. It has not been updated and some information may be out of date.
Students across Utah are grappling with the effects of the higher education budget cuts due to the 2025 legislative session.
The University of Utah faces the largest budget cut, totaling around $19.6 million. These budget cuts target liberal arts programs and pull from the pockets of already struggling students. Despite all this, President Taylor Randall may still receive his yearly pay raise.
Liberal arts programs are integral to student development. The U is already the most expensive public school in the state. A millionaire should not need a yearly pay raise.
Higher education cuts come at the cost of student welfare. Students and staff alike must critically consider the dispersion of wealth here at the U.
Liberal Arts
With HB265, the bill this legislative session requiring “strategic reinvestment” plans for universities, representatives vocalized their concerns about the existence of liberal arts and humanities programs.
This fear is valid. When facing budget cuts, universities often turn to liberal arts programs to make adjustments. These include combining classes, dismantling certain majors and removing resources to help students within these studies.
In the past century, liberal arts majors have been in a decline. Utah’s higher education budget cuts further threaten the existence of these arts.
Utah state Sen. John Johnson, R-Ogden, explained the value of the liberal arts perfectly. According to him, college is more than just a degree. College must teach critical thinking, leadership and flexibility. Without liberal art classes, these skills are lost.
He’s right. Researchers emphasize that liberal arts provide a basis for critical thinking and communication capacities.
These skills are important in both education and real-life applications. Without properly funded liberal arts programs, universities are putting their students at a severe disadvantage.
The security of liberal arts programs must be protected at the U.
Increased Cost of Living
In the 2024-2025 school year alone, the cost of living on campus went up by 3.28%.
The price of tuition is also expected to increase in the 2025-2026 school year.
While there has been no direct statement proving that this price raise is related to the budget cuts, the timing is too fitting to ignore. The school is receiving less money from the state, so they turn to their student body for more funding.
The price of the budget cuts is coming out of the wallets of students.
These are 18 to 25-year-olds expected to either pay out of pocket, obtain highly competitive scholarships, have wealthy parents or go into student loan debt in order to attend school here. Simply put, many students don’t have the resources to pay extra for tuition.
It is this standard that is responsible for the $1.77 trillion of student loan debt the U.S. faces today.
The cost of college is an issue that runs deep. While the U doesn’t have the resources to entirely solve student loan debt, they have a responsibility to their students to keep prices stable.
Payment Disparity
Since he became president, Randall has received roughly a $100k raise in wages per year. This year will likely be no different.
Students employed on campus often make between $10-15 an hour. With the anticipated housing and tuition increase, this isn’t a livable wage.
From the perspective of millions of dollars, $100,000 may not seem like a lot. Yet, this money in Randall’s pocket could have been put towards scholarships, raising student wages or supporting student programs like ASUU.
A true leader would put aside their wants to do what is best for those they’re meant to serve. Randall has the opportunity to exemplify true leadership by passing on his yearly raise and instead put this money back into the university he is meant to serve.
There is potential for these budget cuts and funding reallocation to be for the betterment of Utahns. After all, the majority of lawmakers voted for HB265.
Whether that proves to be true for the student body here is up to the U. It is their responsibility to listen to students to determine where money should come from and where it must go.
In doing so, the U has the opportunity to maintain good standing amongst students.
