In short, no one can accuse Utah Valley State College of sitting still where its transition to Utah Valley University is concerned.

With approval for its master's of education degree program clinched Friday at a Board of Regents meeting at Dixie State College, UVSC passed an important milestone in its transition toward regional university status by July. The university hopes to add two more master's programs, one in nursing and another in business, to its portfolio of academic offerings by 2010.

In a "transition funding update" issued this month, the institution also signaled that it's on its way to fulfilling several broad goals first outlined between UVSC President William A. Sederburg and then-Commissioner of Higher Education Richard E. Kendell in September 2005.

Back then, it was noted that UVSC's teaching loads for faculty were higher than those of comparable institutions, that its ratio of full-time to adjunct faculty members was lower than desired, and that students needed more academic advisers.

To close the gap in faculty-to-student ratio, UVSC has authorized more than 50 new full-time faculty hires, 50 for undergraduate programs and four for new graduate programs, with 30 more faculty hires planned for the 2008-2009 year. In addition, the university has reduced the percentage of instructional credit hours taught by adjunct faculty and full-time faculty teaching extra loads from approximately 57 percent in 2005 to just below 48 percent as of last year. With the hiring of nine academic advisers authorized so far, and the hiring of five more planned for the year 2008-2009, the university is also on track to lower its ratio of students to academic advisers.

All this, plus approval of its first master's program, is evidence UVSC is putting the Legislature's $10 million in appropriations for the transition to good use, said Cameron Martin, assistant to the president for institutional development and planning.

"We weren't blowing sunshine just to get a name change," said Martin, also chairman of UVSC's Transition Task Force. "We needed funding to be competitive as a regional state university against national universities of our like kind."

Although the new education master's degree program, and prospective master's programs in nursing and business, have received much attention, the majority of legislative funding, $8.8 million, will be spent on improving and enhancing undergraduate programs. At least $5.5 million of that will pay for more instruction by salaried, full-time faculty, while $2.5 million will be used to enhance existing and proposed academic programs. The remainder will fund academic advising.

The rest of the $10 million will fund the new master's degree programs.

Martin said fortifying UVSC's "core mission" of two- and four-year degrees, and improving adjunct-to-full-time faculty ratios, is crucial to sustaining the university's mission even as it adds master's degree programs.

"We're not all of a sudden going to became a graduate institution," Martin said. "It's not our mission. We've just broadened into master's degrees in areas of need. That's the very essence of a regional university."

UVSC has already received more than 100 inquiries into its master's program in education, with 30 spots available when the program begins in the fall.

bfulton@sltrib.com

* Master's program in education approved by state Board of Regents, with prospective master's programs in nursing and business to follow.

* Fifty-five new full-time faculty authorized to date, with 30 more planned for 2008-2009.

* Nine new academic advisers authorized to date, with five more planned for 2008-2009.

* Two-day "UVU-phoria" event with a June 30 country music concert featuring Collin Raye, Joe Nichols and Josh Gracin, and UVU campus tours on July 1.