Steven Meredith

Steven Meredith Associate VP, Enrollment Management for Graduate and Online

  • Cedar City UT UNITED STATES

Specializing in graduate programs, online education, music technology, performing arts career preparation, & innovation in higher education.

Contact

Biography

Dr. Steven Meredith is the associate vice president of enrollment management for Graduate and Online Programs at Southern Utah University.

Most recently Dr. Meredith served as an assistant to the president for planning and institutional effectiveness at SUU. He has also led a number of campus initiatives at SUU, including the Southwest Tech Dual Enrollment Partnership, and the 3-Year Degree Option.

Prior to his assignment in the President’s Office, Dr. Meredith was the associate dean of the Graduate and Online School at SUU, and a member of the faculty in the Department of Music.

Dr. Meredith's career in higher education has been remarkably varied and innovative. As an administrator, he has established dozens of new associate, bachelor's and master's degrees in music and technology. He has built and managed a number of technology and production facilities, including a full-fledged TV station. He has served as a dean, department chair, and in many other positions of leadership.

Dr. Meredith earned a bachelor's degree in music and a master's degree in choral music education from the University of Utah and his doctorate degree in musical arts in choral music from Arizona State University.

Spotlight

1 min

SUU to Provide $1.2M in Scholarships for Online Students

Southern Utah University will provide up to $1.2 million in scholarships to students impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The scholarships will be the first offered by SUU for online degree study and will exclusively benefit students who delayed their college education in 2020 because of the pandemic. To qualify for this one-time scholarship program, a student could not have been enrolled in a higher education program during the 2020-2021 academic year. The student should be a resident of Utah or a graduate of a Utah high school. Students must also take a minimum of six credit hours of either undergraduate or graduate courses. “This new scholarship program will open up opportunities for people who have been prevented from going to college because of cost considerations,” said Dr. Steve Meredith, assistant vice president for SUU’s graduate and online programs. “Our online degree programs have seen unprecedented growth because of the affordability and quality of our courses. We believe this will take us to another level of growth.” SUU’s Online program offers 13 bachelor’s and 14 master’s degrees and is nationally ranked as one of the least expensive programs in the country.

Steven Meredith

3 min

Strange Days and New Opportunities: Higher Education and COVID-19

The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has caused major disruptions in higher education, from significant economic impact to social impact of faculty, staff, and students. On the latest episode of Solutions for Higher Education, Southern Utah University President Scott L Wyatt discusses some of the implications of COVID-19 on higher education and how SUU is working to find solutions.  “On this podcast, we've spent this semester talking about disruptions and changes in higher education, enrollment projections and all of these kinds of things that are happening,” said Wyatt. “And of all of the disruptions, nothing equals the one no one expected… a global pandemic.” During the University’s spring break in March 2020, the administration made the decision to shift from face-to-face to fully remote delivery of classes. The use of technology has allowed the University to not only stay in business, but conduct business as near to “normal” as possible.  “This generation that has been sometimes accused of being overly socially engaged on technology and not socially enough engaged face-to-face,” said Wyatt. “However, it is the most well-equipped generation of all time to be able to handle a pandemic like this.”  When the University asked students about the new delivery mode and the experience they have had after leaving for spring break, the majority of students were doing fine. Only a third of students surveyed said their experience was worse. “What we've learned is several things relative to students, and one is that everyone is different,” said Wyatt. “Some people are thriving in this environment. They love being home and having a little more flexibility. And then we have some students that are struggling to get out of bed because they are so depressed by all of this.” “It reminds me that of all the things that we're trying to teach, the character is probably the supreme,” said Wyatt. “We're trying to help people develop grit, the ability to face change, to adjust their lives. Because the students that leave here are going to see multiple, significant changes throughout their careers, they're going to have many different jobs, the job that they end up doing may not have been invented yet, but they're going to have a lot of disruptions. And perhaps this is helping them realize that they can weather storms.” President Wyatt notes that one of the biggest lessons learned from this pandemic is that people are capable of doing things that they didn’t know they were capable of.  “We have more personal strength than we thought we had,” said Wyatt. “I love looking at all of my colleagues and seeing in each one of them a strength I don't have. There isn't strong and weak necessarily, it's ‘we all have different strengths.’ It’s just beyond our strengths, when we're put into environments that we're not conditioned for, we're not ready for, then it's really difficult. And we choose to do our very best and to realize we're living through history.” “By focusing a little bit on the fact that we're living through history, we're seeing things that we've never experienced before, we're doing our best to help take care of those around us as best as we can, and our belief is that there will be a shift as a result of this. It will leave us changed, both as individuals and as a higher education community nationwide.” “To think that every single teacher in America is teaching remotely right now and that every single student is learning remotely right now, we will not come out of this… unchanged.“ Hosted by Steve Meredith, Solutions for Higher Education is a podcast featuring Scott L Wyatt, the president of Southern Utah University.

Steven Meredith

3 min

Dual Enrollment Partnership: A Case Study

During an August 2018 presentation to the Utah State Legislature Subcommittee for Higher Education Appropriations, Rep. Derrin Owens, the House Vice-Chair of the subcommittee asked Scott L Wyatt, President of Southern Utah University, the following question regarding the dual enrollment partnership between Southern Utah University and Southwest Technical College: “I love what I see . . . but why has it taken us until 2018 to get a model like this that really serves students of every background and need? Why has it taken so long?” President Wyatt responded, “Well, we’re in two different worlds, and it is too easy to say ‘we might lose tuition money, or we might lose students.’ So, if you were to look at each of our institutions, it is probably not in our best interest, but it is in the best interest of students so it’s hard!”  Although the last three words of this sentence were spoken in jest, it is in fact a great challenge to create a dual enrollment agreement between the two institutions that, despite being members of very similar governmental agencies with very similar purposes, do in fact operate in “two different worlds.”  This article details some of the creative solutions and new processes used in overcoming the obstacles faced in this “enrollment merger” between Southern Utah University and Southwest Technical College. The planning and approval process for the new agreement began in April 2018, shortly after the MOU was signed. Steve Meredith, Assistant to the President for Planning and Effectiveness (and SUU’s Accreditation Liaison Officer) was assigned the task of coordinating the effort, with assistance from Gary Wixom, retired Associate Commissioner for Higher Education, and James Sage, Associate Provost. Because of the complexity of the process, a number of employee task forces were formed, including task forces for Articulation, the Dual Enrollment Process, Marketing and Orientation, Shared Benefits, and Student Fees. The work of these individuals and groups was vital to the success of the agreement.  During Fall 2018, students enrolled at STECH in Computer Science became the first students to be dually enrolled at SUU and STECH. The articulation agreement between SUU and STECH in Computer Science is the first fullyintegrated, course-by-course articulation agreement approved between the institutions, and it served as a template for all the agreements that followed. In discussions between the two institutions and NWCCU, it was determined that this group of STECH students would serve as a “test group” for the dual enrollment process.  The faculty, staff and administration of both institutions spent an enormous amount of time and energy in the planning and approval phase of this agreement. The process that was undertaken to arrive at the agreement was challenging and required creative problem-solving. However, at all times, the focus was on what would be best for students and their academic progress. Both institutions are eagerly looking forward to the first full implementation of the agreement in Fall 2019, and we anticipate that the initial successes seen in the test group will be seen among the student body as a whole.   Originally published in The Beacon on March 1, 2019. 

Steven Meredith
Show More +

Social

Industry Expertise

Education/Learning
Recording
Motion Pictures and Film
Music
Media Production

Areas of Expertise

Conducting Academic innovation
Choral Music
Higher Education Recruitment
Interdisciplinary Higher Education
Dual Enrollment in Higher Education
General Education in Higher Education
Music Entrepreneurship
MIDI Sequencing
Curriculum Development
Music Technology
Recording Music
Music Production
Media Production
Higher Education Leadership
Music Performance
Music Education
Trends in Music Technology
Music Copyright and Licensing
Degree Pathways for Rural Students
Music Technology Tools, Platforms and Services
Online Education
Graduate Program Design
School-to-work skills

Education

Arizona State University

D.M.A.

Choral Music

University of Utah

M.M.

Music Education

University of Utah

B.M.

Music Education

Accomplishments

President's Podcast Series

Producer of the President's Podcast

Technology Institute for Music Educators

Certified Instructor

Media Appearances

Southern Utah University offers up $1.2M in scholarships for students impacted by COVID-19

The Spectrum  online

2021-08-16

“This new scholarship program will open up opportunities for people who have been prevented from going to college because of cost considerations,” said Dr. Steve Meredith, assistant vice president for SUU’s graduate and online programs. “Our online degree programs have seen unprecedented growth because of the affordability and quality of our courses. We believe this will take us to another level of growth.”

View More

How to get a bachelor's degree in only 3 years

ABC 4 News  tv

2019-10-03

The Utah Legislature and Governor Herbert tasked SUU to start-up an innovative program to give students more options to complete their degree. Meeting these expectations, SUU is now the first public university in the state to offer a 3-year undergraduate degree.
“If you are looking to get into the job market earlier, you’re looking at getting into graduate school earlier, this is a great pathway,” says Steve Meredith, Assistant to the President, Southern Utah University.

View More

Longest Standing Utah University President Focuses on Innovation

Iron County Today  online

2019-03-20

“I think that the greatest achievements under President Wyatt have had to do with student persistence and success,” said Steve Meredith, SUU assistant to the president for planning/institutional effectiveness.

View More

Show All +

Courses

MUSC 4180 Survey of Music Technology

This course introduces various types of computer technology and audio hardware and its application to music. The course includes instruction in music notation, MIDI sequencing, digital recording and hardware associated with recording and live performance.

MUSC 6100 Introduction to Music Graduate Study

This course is an orientation and introduction to graduate study in music at Southern Utah University, focusing on program technology requirements, current readings and trends in music technology, techniques of scholarly writing, and the application of the student’s personal experiences, opportunities, and ambitions as related to their anticipated career and life objectives within the music industry.

MUSC 6350 Music Technology and Business

This course will focus on music technology tools, platforms and services used by the modern music entrepreneur. Study topics will include office technology, copyright/licensing services, royalty collection services, distribution platforms, multi-user project platforms, and the impact, both positive and negative, that technology has had on the music business.

Powered by