Dixie State Receives State Approval for Three New Degrees at Friday Board of Regents Meeting

 The Utah State Board of Regents this past Friday gave Dixie State College of Utah the nod to offer three new degree programs, including the institution’s 13th baccalaureate degree, at its meeting held at Salt Lake Community College. The degree approvals continue the College’s progression toward fulfilling its mission to offer core, foundational and high demand educational opportunities. 

Starting this fall, DSC will begin instruction in its new four-year degree in Psychology, which will be offered as a Bachelor’s of Arts (BA) or Bachelor’s of Science (BS) degree, along with a pair of two-year Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degrees in Clinical Laboratory Science and in Operations Management.

The new psychology degree will provide students a common core of courses in three main topical areas representing a broad spectrum of modern Psychology, including Social/Developmental, Behavioral Neuroscience/Cognitive, and Clinical Counseling/Applied.

The program is intended to develop graduates who have the knowledge and skills required to enter the workforce upon graduation. Students will also have the opportunity to pursue advanced study in psychology or a closely related behavioral science discipline, pursue degrees in law, medicine, business, or numerous other professional fields at the postgraduate level.

“This is an exceptionally happy day for Dixie State College,” said Dr. Don Hinton, DSC dean of arts and letters. “A four year degree in psychology is a core degree that we have needed and for which many students have been waiting. Now we can put in place the last details and begin accepting candidates for this degree.”

Dixie State’s AAS degree in clinical laboratory science is designed to prepare medical laboratory technicians to provide service and research in clinical laboratory science and related areas in rapidly changing and dynamic healthcare delivery systems. Upon completion of the program, these professionals will have the ability to perform, develop, evaluate, correlate and assure accuracy and validity of laboratory information, direct and supervise clinical laboratory resources and operations, and collaborate in the diagnosis and treatment of patients.

“This program is essential for the southern Utah community,” says Dr. Carole Grady, DSC Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health. “It is the latest in a growing repertoire of health sciences programs offered by Dixie State College to meet community needs for well-trained healthcare professionals.”

The main purpose of the new AAS degree in operations management at DSC is to respond to the needs and demands of Washington County businesses, particularly in the manufacturing and service industries, to obtain or develop qualified operations managers. The degree program was designed by DSC to build upon a manufacturing technology (MT) certificate that is currently being offered by the Dixie Applied Technology College (DXATC).

A number of manufacturing programs in the Washington County area have chosen employees to attend the MT program at DXATC in order to gain additional skills. Students completing the MT program would then have the opportunity to complete an AAS degree in operations management at DSC. In addition, Dixie State has a proposal awaiting Regent approval for an operations management emphasis in DSC’s four-year Integrated Studies degree program.

The operations management program is designed to provide students with a strong applied foundation in the management of activities and processes directly associated with the conversion of inputs (materials, labor and energy) into outputs (goods and services). The program focuses on carefully managing the processes that produce and distribute products and services, including strategy planning, new product or service development, production, distribution, work design, supply chain management, recycling and sustainability, customer service, storage, transportation and logistics.

In 2000, Dixie State College was granted license to begin offering bachelor’s degrees in high demand areas, which initially included business administration and computer & information technology.

Several other degrees have since followed, including elementary education (2002), nursing (2004), English (2006), biology (2006), dental hygiene (2007), accounting (2007), aviation management (2007), communication (2007), integrated studies (2008) and music (2009).

In addition, DSC was recently given the green light by the Regents to offer a secondary education teaching (SET) licensure program in three emphases; biology, English education and integrated science, along with additional emphases in accounting, finance and visual technology in Dixie’s business administration program.

In 2005, the Board of Regents approved a change in mission for Dixie State College, allowing the college to begin offering bachelor’s degrees in “core” or “foundational” areas consistent with four-year colleges. Dixie State College also continues to function as a comprehensive community college as well, offering associate degree and certificate programs to its students. 

The overall strategic goal for Dixie State College is to offer core and high demand educational opportunities at both the associate and baccalaureate levels that are consistent with and responsive to the needs of the community. Future programs for Dixie State College will likely center in three primary strategic clusters, which include business & technology, health care & public safety, and education.