They are not the only Utah higher-ed boosters with ambitions for their community schools to become bigger, more prestigious. Consider:
l Utah County officials already are making the case that growing market demands are pushing Utah Valley State College - a comprehensive public college with two- and four-year degree programs for its 24,000 students - to become a full-fledged baccalaureate university.
l Dixie State College also has legislators and community support for the St.-George-based school to morph into a full-fledged four-year university. And Snow College President Michael Benson had wanted four-year programs added to his two-year junior college in central Utah's Sanpete County. He only recently backed away from that push.
"We talked about [it]," he said. "But the [state Board of] Regents said, 'No, Utah has a need for junior colleges. We want you to stay where you are, but you can partner with another institution.' " That means, for example, that Logan-based Utah State would offer four-year-degree-tract programs on Snow's campus in Ephraim.
Still, Utah has at least three state-owned colleges whose boosters are hoping for an eventual change in status - a two-year school moves to a four-year college; a four-year college becomes a university; and a university aspires to become a major research institution.
These changes, referred to as "mission creep," raise questions: How many four-year and research universities does Utah really need, and is the march toward four-year status undercutting the traditional role of community colleges?
Regents are launching an initiative to deal with these issues. It recognizes there will be changes among the institutions and calls for new, local colleges, but there have to be justifications for doing it, says Higher Education Commissioner Richard Kendell.
"How many communities in Utah can afford a comprehensive community college?" he asked.
"Is there justification and funding to have a new college in Fillmore? Or Tooele? What about Roosevelt? Or Richfield?"
In the case of Weber State, community leaders acknowledge that their drive toward more prestigious research status will be a tough slog.
Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey said he expects the idea will be "received coolly" by higher education officials.
And Dave Hardman, president of Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce, says he doesn't anticipate WSU becoming a research university anytime soon.
"It's not politically possible because the governor and the higher-education community are committed to the U. and Utah State having that designation," Hardman said.
But Godfrey gets encouragement from remarks by Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and others who acknowledge the importance of a research institution to a community.
"I have listened to Governor Huntsman's and Salt Lake Chamber President Lane Beattie's speeches, saying they know of no vibrant community in the country that doesn't have a connection to a research institution," said Godfrey. "Cache Valley has Utah State, Salt Lake City has the U., and BYU helps prime the economy in Utah County.
"This greater-Ogden area cannot continue to be ignored."
But WSU President F. Ann Millner says now is not the time to change WSU's mission. Besides, Weber State "already does play a role in assisting economic development in the [Ogden] community.
"It would take an additional infusion of $50 million or more in state money for Weber State to become a competitive research-1 university," she said. "It is difficult for the state to fund its institutions in the roles they have now."
Tony Morgan, a professor in the U.'s Educational Leadership and Policy Department, agrees. He says moving WSU to a doctoral-research university doesn't seem wise, especially in times of rising tuition and dwindling state support.
"Why would we want to create another [research university]? We would drive ourselves into a hole," he said.
To determine whether Utah with its population of 2.5 million can afford another high-cost public research university, Morgan crunched the numbers.
Calculating the gross state product (wealth based on all goods and services in the state) for 34 states then dividing each state's wealth by the number of public research universities in those states, Morgan said Utah ranks second from the bottom. New Mexico - also with two state-owned research schools, modest overall wealth among its residents and a lower population - is in last place.
"Utah is a relatively poor state," Morgan said. "People are pretty naive as to just how expensive research universities are."
Meanwhile, Godfrey still holds out hope that there could be a greater research role for his community's university, perhaps one that capitalizes on his area's economic emphasis on aerospace.
"Weber State could carve out a niche that's outside the scope of the other universities, such as aerospace, that will complement existing jobs in Weber County and at Hill Air Force Base," he said.
Will community boosters, who dream of a higher status for their respective schools, succeed? Right now, state Sen. John "Bill" Hickman's vision for pumping Dixie State College to full four-year university status is only that - a vision.
"We're moving at a reasonable pace," said the St. George Republican. He predicts that Washington County's growth will demand that the school not only offer four-year degrees, but master's degrees as well within a decade.
With Snow College leaders, at least temporarily, backing off from their desire to push for four-year status, that leaves Utah County-based UVSC as the most likely to be elevated to a full-fledged university - as Southern Utah State College, now SUU, did 15 years ago.
Since taking the helm at UVSC in 2003, President William Sederburg has touted that status for the former vocational school.
He is backed by Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, a former Utah County commissioner, who calls UVSC's potential elevation three to five years from now "a great move for the state."
Higher-ed Commissioner Kendall says UVSC's growth is "an evolutionary thing" because Utah Valley will be one of the state's major population centers.
"We will plan jointly with UVSC to attain [necessary] milestones, and to get resources from the Legislature and from students."
sykes@sltrib.com
On a mission
The state Board of Regents
has designated four mission/role
categories for nine of the state's
public colleges and universities.
The 10th college, Utah College of
Applied Technology, has the
distinct role of training students
to meet Utah's work-force needs.
Type 1. Doctoral/research
universities:
University of Utah, Utah State University
Type 2. Master's colleges
and universities:
Weber State University, Southern Utah University
Type 3. Baccalaureate
colleges/associate's colleges:
Utah Valley State College, Dixie State College
Type 4. Comprehensive
colleges/associate's colleges:
Snow College, College of Eastern Utah, Salt Lake Community College Big picture
Regents, on April 21, plan to tackle six "big picture" topics aimed at shaping the future of higher education:
l Work to strike a balance between state support and increasing tuition.
l Discuss whether higher education is meeting Utah's work-force needs.
l Explore ways to close the income gap to a college education.
l Improve student retention and help them graduate in four years.
