The K-l6 Alliance was established in 2006 with representatives from the Utah System of Higher Education, Utah State Office of Education, the Governor’s Office, and the Utah State Legislature. The overarching vision of the Alliance is to more nearly approximate a system approach to education in Utah, from kindergarten through post-secondary education. The major objective of the Alliance is to establish a working relationship and processes that unify and minimize boundaries between K-12 and College. The focus is on alignment and quality.

The Alliance seeks to engender a united perspective that will enable students from secondary schools to easily make the transition into higher education and to ensure that these students are prepared for college work. The biggest milestone for the K-16 Alliance has been the implementation of the common student identifier. The common student identifier will allow both public education (USOE) and higher education (USHE) to track how students progress from kindergarten through college.

Since the initiation of the Alliance, much has been accomplished and the work continues, as can be seen from subcommittee reports on the committee links to the left.