CTE audit finds weak guardrails and alignment; board directs staff to form stakeholder work group

An internal audit of Utah’s career and technical education programs prompted an extended committee discussion and a direction to staff to convene stakeholders to address data, funding and alignment concerns.

Kevin John, deputy audit executive, summarized the audit process and findings, noting the review examined policy, data reporting, funding and program performance and that the audit represents the auditors’ opinion based on sampled LEAs. He said the audit work intensified in 2025 and was released to the board and legislature in February.

Wendy Morton, CTE coordinator at USBE, described immediate corrective steps the department has taken: reviewing courses for enrollment and alignment with postsecondary and industry partners; meeting with LEAs and SIS vendors to correct reporting errors (some errors were tied to one SIS vendor and are being fixed for FY26); and working with financial staff to clarify how carry-forward balances are reported.

Board members raised three high-level concerns summarized by one member: (1) lack of guardrails and clear performance measures (the auditor and board member cited low pass rates on some skill certificates), (2) insufficient alignment between CTE offerings and state workforce goals or technical-college pathways, and (3) variable course quality and challenges recruiting qualified instructors for highly technical programs. Committee members noted that some CTE courses have small enrollments and asked staff whether those courses are being funded when empty; staff said LEAs are not funded for courses with zero enrollments but processes for removing obsolete or very low-enrollment courses could be streamlined.

The committee directed staff to develop a stakeholder work group to review rule R277911 and related rules, examine the funding formula, align CTE with the first-credential and concurrent-enrollment work already under way at higher-education partners, and return recommendations to the committee in the fall (October) with periodic updates.