Leaning Into Community & Service at Utah Tech University

Situated just southwest of Zion National Park, Utah Tech University offers students access to stunning nature right around the corner. However, President Shane Smeed knows that proximity to natural wonders won’t lead to enrollment by itself. Smeed offers a model of what it takes to connect with every corner of a community, from K-12 students, to retirees, to employers, to incarcerated youth. Overseeing an institution of 13,000 students and nearly 300 programs requires a level of alignment that connects the university’s mission to the needs of the community. The new president recently shared with AcOps a practical look at how community ties take shape at Utah Tech and why he’s a big believer in service.

Dual Enrollment Outside of Community Colleges

Smeed's very first day on the job didn’t start with a round of introductory meetings. He kicked off his presidency by handing out diplomas to students you rarely see at four-year universities: high school students. He recounted what he saw from his place on the stage: "What I noticed first on that associate's day graduation was how many students were walking across the graduation stage who were going to be graduating from high school, just within a week or two of that point in time." The Community College Research Center found that community colleges serve 71% of dual enrollment students, putting Utah Tech at the forefront of public, four-year institutions that serve 19% of dual enrollment students nationwide.

Dual enrollment is surging across the nation as high school students take advantage of the opportunity to get college credit, often at no cost, before they even set foot on a college campus. Most of these students aren't logging into an online portal or driving to campus after school. They're doing the work where they already are. Smeed explained: "Most of those students are taking classes in the classroom, during the high school day. Some students are finding ways to take college classes online or at the university as well, but the majority of students are just taking them right there at the convenience of their school."

For Smeed, the value isn't just academic credit banked or early exposure to college. It's a head start on the transition from student to professional. "There's no better way to get ahead and to get started off and become even more workforce ready at that point."

Community Alignment Beyond Employer Partners

Ask Smeed what shapes Utah Tech's priorities and the answer keeps returning to a central theme: community alignment. As a polytechnic university built around active and applied learning, the institution treats its relationships with local employers as core infrastructure rather than an add-on. "So much of what we focus on is really about workforce alignment and workforce readiness. As a polytechnic university that's really focused on active and applied learning, we have to continue to strengthen those relationships with the businesses."

That philosophy extends into how Smeed talks about the university's place in its region. He describes a campus that is constantly working in concert with its surroundings. He emphasizes: "When I speak about community and industry, it's synonymous with what's happening at the university." One of the clearest examples is City Alliance, a program that pairs faculty and students with surrounding municipalities to work on real problems those cities are facing. "City Alliance is where we actually partner to create really economically strong areas within other municipalities that are surrounding the university. We bring in our faculty as part of the City Alliance and our students to solve these real-world problems."

The university's community reach doesn't stop at employers and local government. Through Utah Tech’s Institute for Community Learning, retirees in the area engage with the university through a number of offerings. "These are principally retired individuals who are lifelong learners and we offer them classes, clubs. They take field trips. So imagine these retirees who are in town, they're engaging with the university. So when we think about the life cycle of learning in higher education, I mentioned K-12, now I'm talking about retirees." Smeed also highlighted Utah Tech’s work to bring education to incarcerated youth in the region, work informed by data showing that access to education lowers the likelihood that young people return to the system.

Providing the Most Affordable Four-Year Tuition in Utah

While programs designed to serve students across a variety of demographics are critical, access only matters if students can afford to walk through the door. Smeed is direct about where Utah Tech stands on that front. "At Utah Tech University, we are the most affordable degree-granting university, four-year university, in the state. And so when you can brag about the lowest tuition in the state and reference just under $3,000 per semester, that's incredible." He credits state leadership with helping make that possible, describing a shared priority that runs from the governor's office through the legislature. "Our legislators are really focused on making education affordable. And that goal begins with our governor, and it continues with the legislature and the senate and the house."

Service as a Defining Value, Not a Side Project

When asked about an underrated area of a president’s work, Smeed immediately emphasized the value of service. "I think about service. And I don't think we talk about that enough." He recalled a recent trip where 15 students traveled to New Orleans not for a conference or a tour, but to work. "They were in New Orleans for a beautification project. They were serving. They were cleaning city parks. They were doing coastal restoration. Native plant care, community gardens they were working in." For Smeed, this isn't a program that happens as a one-off; he sees it lived out on the daily across campus. "Service is central to my mission as university president. I know by observation and by experience working with them, it's central to our students and central to our faculty and our staff."

The Value of Partnerships to Redefine Higher Ed

Reflecting on his work and Utah Tech’s position, Smeed remains upbeat on the outlook of higher education while acknowledging that institutions must guard against complacency. He points out that institutions built decades or, in some cases, centuries ago can’t assume the original model will continue to work. "I do think that there are places that need to do things a little differently. They need to reimagine. The things that we were doing in 1636 when Harvard first chartered and what's happening today, they're very different. I think that universities need to really look at what they do really well and focus on that niche, focus on that mission."

Part of higher ed’s reimagining, in his view, means resisting the instinct to go it alone. "Learn how to collaborate with others, and not try to go about this independently. And so for us … we have great partners, and we have great individuals who we collaborate with." Utah Tech’s model demonstrates that an entire ecosystem of partners is what makes it possible to draw in students of all ages and stages of life. As institutions across the country grapple with the decline of the 18-to-22-year-old college student, this model will become increasingly important to maintain relevance in a crowded market.