"There is an increasing sense that a higher education degree is a private right as opposed to a public interest," said Denise Merrill, a Connecticut lawmaker and co-chairwoman of the National Conference of State Legislatures' Blue Ribbon Commission on Higher Education. "But it is in the public interest to have as many people with degrees as possible."

Utah is a good example of the trend detailed in the report the commission released Monday.

In the state, 30.2 percent of residents ages 45 to 64 have four-year degrees, ranking the state 12th in the nation in that age group. But among Utahns ages 25 to 34, only 26 percent have degrees, dropping the state's rank to 31st nationwide.

In addition, in the past 10 years, the percentage of Utahns ages 25 to 34 with bachelor's degrees has slipped from 41 percent to 26 percent.

The trend concerns Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, one of six Republicans who joined six Democrats in serving on the national commission. He and his peers fear lower education attainment may hinder the nation's global economic competitiveness at a time when critical thinking skills and creativity developed through higher learning have never been as important.

"Higher education is the ticket to a good job and economic security," according to the report. "A strong higher education system supports individual financial success, a strong state economy and a competitive nation."

The commission's recommendations call for more consistent funding to lessen the burden on students, strategies for adapting to population growth and incentives to encourage more people to earn bachelor's degrees.

"It will be interesting to see the reaction to this report because we didn't put all the responsibility on the federal government," said Hillyard, co-chairman of the Utah Legislature's Executive Appropriations Committee. "I hope this is a wake-up call in each state. I hope legislatures realize that higher education is an important investment and realize the states haven't carried their responsibility."

He said the Utah Legislature is guilty of the same mind-set as other lawmaking bodies: When money is tight, higher education budgets are cut and the burden is placed on students and families through higher tuition costs.

He added fierce lawmaker loyalty to a single institution of higher education may lead to certain institutions getting more money than others.

"It's hard to get someone to support higher education, period," he said. "Instead, legislators in leadership positions react to schools in their vicinities instead of looking at higher education as a whole."

The burden of maintaining the system overall falls to the Utah State Board of Regents, spokeswoman Amanda Covington said.

"The main issue is that higher education to many citizens and policymakers isn't always the immediate crisis or need," she said. "It should be looked at not as a private good but a public good."

Pamela Perlich, a demographer at the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research, said Utah's population of 18- to 24-year-olds is holding steady, and will remain so for a few more years. In order to increase college graduation rates, institutions must focus on groups whose enrollment and completion could improve, she said.

"Women begin college at higher rates than the nation, but they're not finishing," she said. "When you don't have an increase in the population, participation has to go up among women and minorities."

Regents have said they need $405 million in additional funding from the state and student tuition over the next five years to increase efforts to recruit more women and minority students.

If the plan they have in mind works, college enrollment among 18- to 29-year-olds should grow 0.2 percent in 2007 and 0.5 percent in 2008, increasing to an annual growth rate of 0.7 percent by 2017.

"It's a modest proposal," Higher Education Commissioner Richard Kendell said during the board's meeting at Southern Utah University in July.

Nationwide, participation needs to go up, too, said commission member Geanie Morrisson, a legislator from Texas.

"In people aged 35 to 64 who hold a college degree, we rank No. 2, but we're getting further behind," she said. "For people who are 18 to 24, we are No. 16 in completing college."

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* SHEENA MCFARLAND can be contacted at smcfarland@sltrib.com or 801-257-8619.