Even as Regents pull the reins is UVSC headed to Eagle Mountain?

A few weeks ago a three-member committee made a recommendation to Utah's Board of Regents that would place a "moratorium on geographic expansion" for the system's public colleges and universities. The committee hopes that future growth can be handled through schedule juggling and a greater focus on distance education, at least until a statewide plan for expansion can be adopted. As you can imagine UVSC's Bill Sederburg, president of the state's fastest growing college, was none to pleased to hear that the kibosh is being put on his dreams of campus expansion.

UVSC chief pans plan that would limit growth (Deseret Morning News, April 19 2008)

Now on the heels of the Regents plans to manage growth, comes the news that UVSC and the up-and-coming berg of Eagle Mountain are looking into a possible UVSC satellite campus.

Satellite college campus may land in Eagle Mountain (Salt Lake Tribune, April 24 2008)

No mention of the proposed moratorium in the Trib article, but of course any plans for expansion would have to be approved by them, as well as the legislature. An interesting note on that committee that recommended the moratorium; one of the members is Jack Zenger, former Chair of UVSC's Board of Trustees. Fascinating that a man so familiar with UVSC's expansion needs would recommend such action. As Sederburg has pointed out satellite campuses will be absolutely necessary to accommodate the nearly 20,000 additional students the school projects will enroll in the next few decades. Sederburg believes that unless land is banked now there won't be any place to build down the road.

There is another interesting nugget in the Trib article; Val Peterson is quoted as saying that the main Orem Campus could only handle 28,000 students. Considering the recent uptick in growth (Sederburg predicted an additional 500 students this Fall) 28 K doesn't seem so far away.

But will students go to a satellite campus? If the Wasatch campus is any indication, probably not. The tone in the Trib article seems to indicate that they are marketing these satellites (another is planned for the south end of Utah County, most likely Spanish Fork) to working adults. That makes sense, but the question still remains if you build it will they come?

MATC out as UVSC creeps west

UVSC leases space in its west campus (across I-15, directly north of Parkway Crossing) to the Mountainlands Applied Technology Center at the generous rate of $1 a year. But with a rising student population, and an upswing in faculty and staff hires as the college becomes a university, UVSC needs to kick out their tenants.


MATC, UVSC review building lease (Daily Herald, April 15 2008)


The plan has been approved by UVSC's Board of Trustees, and will still need to be approved by the MATC board. Of course, they really don't have much choice, so they are already making plans for the move. The MATC will still operate out of the first floor of the building, and UVSC will start moving in on July 1st. No word yet on who is being moved to the campus version of Outer Siberia. Whoever the lucky people are, they can choose to see it as a punishment, or revel in the lack of supervision. Just ask the folks in the Faculty Annex...most of them love the lack of pop-ins.

Big Surprise! Tuition and Fees to increase again

UVSC's Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve a 6.3 percent tuition increase for the upcoming 2008-2009 school year year, along with an $18 increase in student fees.

Students at UVU to pay $188 more per year (Deseret Morning News, March 14 2008)

In other words a 12 credit semester (with student fees) at UVU will run in-state students $1876. For non-residents a semester will set you back $5757.

Costs for UVU's new graduate program will have also been released. Those entering the school's masters of education program will be paying $179 per credit hour.

As other public colleges approve their increases (and there are always increases) The Pipeline will make a comprehensive comparison of what a college education goes for in the Beehive State.

Bill would offer college scholarships to every high school student in Utah

Richard Kendell may have stepped down from his position as Utah's commissioner of higher education, but that hasn't stopped him from spearheading a campaign to get more high school students into college.

Good grades, the right college prep classes may net $1,350
(Salt Lake Tribune, January 9 2008)

Kendell is helping Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, navigate the bill through the legislature. The annual session begins later this month. The bill calls for each 8th grader to receive a letter from the Board of Regents saying that a $1000 scholarship is already in their name and gaining interest. All students need to do is graduate with a B average and take a set college prep courses while in high school. It is expected that of the 35,000 8th graders currently in the state about 7,000 would qualify.

Sure, $1350 would hardly pay for a single semester at UVSC (especially in 5 years!) but at least it is something.

UVU's first graduate program gets greenlight from Trustees

Last night, members of UVSC's board of Trustees approved the school's first graduate program.

UVSC board OK's master's degree plan
(Deseret Morning News, November 8 2007)

UVSC trustees approve first proposal for master's degree
(Daily Herald, November 8 2007)

UVSC approves first master's degree for UVU
(Salt Lake Tribune, November 8 2007)

As expected the first master's degrees will be in education, and if the proposal gets approval from the State Board of Regents the program could start in the August of '08. Classes would be at night to allow current teachers to continue working while earning their degrees. The school also plans heavier workloads for graduate students during the summer.

It is expected that the UVU will accept between 20-30 new students into the Master's of Education program each year.

UVSC Trustee to challenge Cannon for 3rd district seat

Former BYU place-kicker and current UVSC Trustee Jason Chaffetz announced today that we will run against Chris Cannon for the republican nomination for Utah's 3rd district congressional seat.

UPDATE: Governor's former chief of staff to run against Cannon
(Daily Herald, October 1 2007)

Chaffetz announces bid to unseat Cannon
(Deseret Morning News, October 1 2007)

Jason Chaffetz, David Leavitt
Two Republicans challenge Congressman Chris Cannon
(Salt Lake Tribune, October 1 2007)

While there was no announcement on what this will mean for his responsibilities at UVSC , we have to speculate that he might be stepping down. This much is for sure, Big Bill would love to have a former trustee (even a former Cougar) in Washington.

You can check out Chaffetz's website here:

http://www.jasonforcongress.com

Is this the end of Trades at UVSC?

Back in January of 2004, UVSC's monthly Board of Trustees meeting ventured away from the cozy confines of their wood-paneled boardroom in the Student Center and braved the wilds of Heber City to visit the Wasatch Campus. Safe from the prying eyes of reporters from the local rags Trustees and various VPs were free to speak their minds without fear that it would end upon the front page the next day. And while you can find the planned agenda for this meeting on the Board of Trustees website you won't find any record of the actual minutes there. By the way, minutes from that meeting do exist, board members voted to approve the minutes from that meeting the following month, but for some reason they don't appear on the website.


After a few procedural votes, Bill Sederburg dispensed with the usual format and broke the participants up into several small groups to spitball ideas of where they thought the school would be headed in 5 years.

After 15 minutes or so, the groups reconvened and shared their ideas, with Big Bill writing the ideas on a giant whiteboard. Of course the idea of becoming a university was batted around by a few (most thinking it was still much further off in the horizon). When it came time to talk about the future of the Trades program, there were several participants that spoke of the Mountainlands Applied Technology Center and their expanding role in trades training. That is when VP Cory Duckworth spoke up and said "Maybe it is time we start discussing dissolving Trades?" The room went quiet, but nobody disagreed. The genie was out of the bottle

Since that time Trades at UVSC has seen a drop in enrollment, real estate, and relevance. In 2005 the School of Technology, Trades, and Industry was rolled in with the computer science and engineering crowd to form the School of Computing, Engineering and Technology. There has been a steady push by administration to push trades in a far more technical direction and bring their curriculum up to university standards. Old-timers in the Trades have fought the transition tooth and nail, and meanwhile enrollments at the much-cheaper MATC grew.

Which leads us to an article in this morning's Tribune that puts a new spin on the decline of trades:

Union between colleges studied:
Students would be able to earn applied science degree through the curricula at two schools (Salt Lake Tribune, July 18th 2007).

The article says their is a proposal on the table that would allow Utah College of Applied Technology school's to offer Associate of Applied Science degrees in cooperation with colleges and universities throughout the state. Currently UCAT schools, like the MATC, only offer Associate of Applied Technology degrees, which are only recognized within Utah. AAS degrees are a more universal standard, recognized by most states.

For many in the UVSC administration the fact that trades students could only get AAS degrees from them and not from MATC, was the difference that kept the program afloat. After all, why would students interested in an AAS degree go to UVSC when they could get the same degree from MATC for a fraction of the price?

Of course this proposal by UCAT is still in the preliminary stages, but if this happens it could be the beginning of the end for trades at UVSC.


UPDATE: An article in the Trib points out some of the advantages of choosing an applied technology degree over traditional higher education:

Nontraditional path to educational certificates paying off for many Utahns (Salt Lake Tribune, July 30 2007)

UVSC Board of Trustees shake up

At last week's Board of Trustees meeting a new chair was named and two new members were
welcomed into UVSC's highest governing body.

UVSC names new board of trustees (Deseret Morning News)

Former LDS Church auxiliary president Janette Hales Beckham, who has been on the board since 2004, replaces outgoing chair Dan Campbell (who will remain a Trustee). Fellow board members Karen Acerson and Ron Dallin have completed their terms and were replaced by Steven J. Lund and Terry Shoemaker.

Lund is the second banana at NuSkin, the valley's preeminent multi-level marketing company. Shoemaker is the superintendent of Wasatch Schools.

On Monday the school released the news via their Page One e-mail that goes out to all employees. Here it is:

UVSC welcomed new leadership for its Board of Trustees Wednesday, June 13. Janette Beckham was elected chair of the Board of Trustees, Tim Clark, vice-chair and Doyle Mortimer, secretary. They will form the executive committee of the Trustees. Beckham replaces Dan Campbell as chair. However, Campbell will remain a member of the Trustees. Karen Acerson and Ron Dallin completed their service as Trustees and have been replaced by Steve Lund, vice chairman of the board of directors for NuSkin Enterprises and Terry Shoemaker, superintendent of Wasatch School District.

UVSC Trustees are the College’s governing board, appointed by the Governor and approved by the Senate of the State of Utah. They work closely with the UVSC administration. Part of their duties as liaison between the institution, community and Regents include approving the college mission, strategic planning, new degree programs, policies, budgets and honorary degrees. They are also involved in funding raising and alumni relations.

Beckham has been a Trustee since 2004. She served as general young women’s president of the LDS Church for seven and a half years, where she worked with youth and traveled the world. She has been a state Legislator and was also a member of the BYU Board of Trustees for six years. UVSC’s dedication to student success is what first drew Beckham to UVSC. “UVSC is very student centered; everyone is welcome,” said Beckham. “I like that a lot about UVSC,” she continued. “This coming year should be a great one, and I’m excited for my new position!”

Clark is president of TR Clark and Associates, LLC, a consulting and training organization that provides strategy, change management and process improvement services. He has served as a Trustee since 2005, and has been a member of the Trustee Audit Committee. Clark has donated much of his time consulting for UVSC and providing leadership training.

Mortimer is vice president of Alexander’s Printing and has served as a Trustee since 2005. He has been a member of the Utah State Legislature, a board member for the Provo/Orem Chamber of Congress and is on the board for the Utah College of Applied Technology. “We’re moving ahead becoming a university,” Mortimer said. “With this transition, the institution will be able to achieve their goals of greater prestige, increased funding and continued response to the community.”

One error in the above article is that Trustees are not appointed by the governor and appointed by the senate...that is the State Board of Regents.

UVSC scores another supporter on Board of Regents

The Salt Lake Tribune reports today that former chair of UVSC's Board of Trustees Jack Zenger has been nominated by Gov. Jon Huntsman to the all-powerful State Board of Regents. Zenger will be replacing Michael Jensen, a lawyer from Price. His nomination will need to be confirmed by the state senate.

Zenger will join Marlon "No High School Diploma" Snow on the Board, and the two will be the only representatives from Utah County. Still, that is one more than UVSC had yesterday.

According to the Board of Regents website Snow's term is ending this June. It will be interesting to see if Huntsman replaces him with another Utah County resident. Might we recommend Jeff "Pee Wee" Alexander, who recently retired from the legislature and probably wouldn't mind working a few days a month.

Regents get paid next to nothing (a travel per diem for their monthly meetings) but they hold positions of incredible influence and are treated like kings by schools looking to curry their favor. They also get to rub shoulders with Utah's best and brightest...in other words, it's a pretty good deal.

The Board is made up of fifteen regents, each appointed by a governor to a six-year term. The Chair appoints two non-voting members to serve unspecified terms. There is also a vote for the student regent, which is chosen every year and is usually a former student body president. Historically Salt Lake City has had the most representation on the board. Currently there are eight regents from Salt Lake serving on the Board.

So far so good

As the short legislative session rolls along it appears UVSC's push for university status is gathering momentum. On Friday the senate voted 29-0 in favor of SB 70 which paves the way for UVSC to upgrade to a level II institution. The bill will get one last floor read before heading to the house, where it might facing some tougher challenges.

The Pipeline caught up with Bill Sederburg on Thursday morning and he gave every indication that he was confident of the senate vote, and optimistic about the house. His righthand man Jared Sumsion said that they are begining the process of identifying their proponents, marking these legislators with a UV pin if they have their vote.

Of course all of this activity is happening right in the middle of a crucial hire for the college, as Sederburg looks to fill Brad Cook's Academic VP position. This will most likely be the biggest personel decision of his tenure, and will greatly shape the future of the institution as it progresses into a new role within the state.

Friday morning Big Bill sent out this e-mail to employees.

Updated information on Search for Vice President for Academic Affairs



I want to thank everyone who has been involved in the search for Vice President for Academic Affairs . The search committee under the excellent leadership of Numsiri Kunakemakorn and Ian Wilson have provided three excellent candidates for final consideration. I have been very impressed with each person.



Yesterday, I met with the search committee, the vice presidents, the deans, and the Board of Trustees; reviewed the written comments from the open forums; and responded to many e-mails. Additionally, I have reviewed the candidates' qualifications with a variety of people and have done extensive reference checking. I am continuing to talk with others throughout the state and nation who know the candidates and can provide additional input.



You should know that three variables will drive my final decision. The first is the candidate's concurrence with the mutually-developed institutional mission and vision identified through the Strategic Planning Process, PBA process, master plans, and institutional work plans. The second is the candidate's compatibility and partnership with our institutional leadership team. Finally, given the scope and amount of work facing UVSC and Academic Affairs, the candidate's ability to provide the dynamic, energetic leadership required.



I will be out of town making a presentation and will not return until mid next week. Thus, I may not have my final decision ready for announcement until late next week. As this is an important decision, I appreciate your patience during this review and decision-making process.



When the decision is announced, I ask everyone to rally around whomever I select. The committee has presented us with three excellent candidates; it is a fun decision to make.