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This report estimates the economic impact of Utah Valley State College (UVSC) on Utah County, Utah, in the 1999-2000 school year, using the Ryan-New Jersey model, a model that estimates economic impact on the local economy by summing the total expenditures of the college, employees, and students. UVSC is a state college composed of two interdependent divisions, a community college division and an upper division that consists of programs leading to baccalaureate degrees in areas of high community demand and interest. The U.S. Department of Commerce has developed a multiplier to apply to expenditures to estimate the total impact of college, employee, and student expenditures on the local economy. It is estimated that about $153 million of the economy in Utah County during fiscal year 1999-2000 was a result of the presence of UVSC. The expenditures of the College generate business for nearly every type of business enterprise in the County. The College provided jobs for 884 full-time and 1,485 part-time working adults (non-students), and employment for 796 students. Estimates indicate that the state obtains a high return on its investment in UVSC; for every dollar invested by the state in 1999-2000, there was a total return of $4.04 to the community. The economic impacts of some of the Colleges programs and centers are estimated individually. One appendix contains the economic impact work sheet, another contains the study survey data, and the last lists a single reference. (SLD)

In an effort to determine whether advanced placement and concurrently enrolled high school students learn as well as college students in distance education courses, Utah Valley State College (UVSC) administered an open-ended survey in the spring of 1998 to all students learning off-campus via the computer or television, soliciting information on the interactive learning experience, demographics, and the level of satisfaction with the course and teacher. After the survey was administered, fourteen interactive teachers were surveyed on similar issues. Findings indicate that: (1) high school students had more complaints about interactive learning, yet were more complimentary of teachers than were the college students; (2) high school students value interactive classes more than college students, yet do not perform as well; (3) high school students reported feeling isolated and found the interactive courses to be difficult; (4) teacher feedback was similar to student feedback regarding the necessity of basic student skills for success in an interactive environment; (5) both teachers and students like the technology and access; (6) it is questionable whether high school students are prepared or ready for interactive college courses; and (7) further study should be conducted. Appended are the survey instruments. Contains 12 references. (EMH)

This report estimates the economic impact of Utah Valley State College (UVSC) on Utah County, Utah, in 1996-1997, using the Ryan-New Jersey model, a model that estimates economic impact on the local economy by summing the total expenditures of the college, employees, and students. UVSC is a state college composed of two interdependent divisions, a community college division and an upper division that consists of programs leading to baccalaureate degrees in areas of high community demand and interest. The U.S. Department of Commerce has developed a multiplier to apply to expenditures to estimate the total impact of college, employee, and student expenditures on the local economy. It is estimated that about $112 million of the economy in Utah County during fiscal year 1996-1997 was a result of the presence of UVSC. The expenditures of the College generate business for nearly every type of business enterprise in the County. The College provided jobs for 714 full-time and 1,228 part-time working adults (non-students), and employment for 694 students. Estimates indicate that the state obtains a high return on its investment in UVSC; for every dollar invested by the state in 1996-1997, there was a total return of $3.81 to the community. The economic impacts of some of the Colleges programs and centers are estimated individually. One appendix contains the economic impact work sheet under the Ryan-New Jersey model. A second appendix contains model survey data, and the third cites one reference. (SLD)

This final project report describes a 3-year project designed to integrate ethics into all disciplines at Utah Valley State College to introduce students to ethical complications they may face in their careers and vocations. Fifty faculty members participated in the project, the major components of which involved a 2-week summer seminar in ethics; monthly meetings held with scholars; weekly meetings between faculty and eight ethics faculty members who gave guidance on curriculum development in ethics, case study writing, and syllabus changes; and a compilation of about 500 case studies for a book on ethical dilemmas faced in the professions, trades, and vocations. Currently, a minimum of 3,500 students are being taught ethics by the various faculty who have been in this project. The effectiveness of the project was evaluated using the Defining Issues Test, the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Proficiency Critical Thinking Test, a newly developed expansion to the Critical Thinking Test, and a modification of the Critical Incident Technique. All evaluations showed that faculty had developed a greater knowledge in the field of ethics and had demonstrated a change in critical thinking between pre- and posttests. A compilation of evaluation questionnaire results is appended. (WD)