The Orem City Council is expected to adopt a resolution tonight supporting the school's effort to become a four-year university.
“UVSC is a part of our community,” City Manager Jim Reams said Monday. “A lot of our kids go there, and we believe to give it university status is a benefit to both the university and the students.”
Officials of the Orem college laid out plans to transform the school into a full-fledged university last weekend before the Board of Regents. The proposal estimated the change would cost taxpayers $10 million annually.
The Legislature has the final say on any change.
UVSC spokeswoman Megan Laurie said Orem's backing hopefully will give the proposal more weight.
“For them, knowing our community supports us, that says a lot to the legislators,” Laurie said.
Administrators already grant four-year degrees at the 20,000-student institution, but they would like to grant graduate degrees as well.
They say university status is needed to deal with ballooning enrollment, which is increasing at about 4 percent a year.
“There's a need for another public university, particularly in this valley where a lot of the students are going to UVSC,” Reams said.
Councilwoman Karen McCandless, who serves on UVSC's community council, said university status would boost economic development.
“This is Orem's school,” McCandless said. “Having it be a university shows how much we, as a community, value education.”
toddh@sltrib.com
