In addition, Sederbug said the number of graduate programs at the school would be limited so the quality of teaching undergraduates will not suffer.

"(The authors) were concerned about that, but I think the general consensus is we would be more like Weber State (University)," Sederburg said.

"I don't think one can argue" the Ogden school ignored teaching quality when it became a university, he said.

Sederburg said that administrators are interested in launching master's degrees in education, nursing education and business administration. Fewer than 500 of the school's nearly 25,000 student population would be graduate students.

"I think we could get a master's degree of teacher education up pretty fast," Sederburg said. "Probably within a year (of legislative funding in 2007, and a name change in 2008). You're looking at '09-10. That type of degree is not hard to put together. There's a lot of faculty in the valley we can call upon to do that."

Kendell, however, says he's focused more on money than a timetable.

And the report also cautions against "doing too much too fast."

It notes that some faculty members and staff at UVSC felt exhausted over the transition from a community college to a state college in the early 1990s.

Sederburg said he was not aware that people felt that way.

Academic freedom — the ability to explore, discuss and study ideas without fear of repercussion by administrators — also was addressed in the report.

Val Peterson, a UVSC vice president, said administrators use a booklet called "Tools and Insights" by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities to talk about the implications of regional university status, including the importance of lawmakers and community members to respect academic freedom.

UVSC is no stranger to community pressure as a result of its programs and campus events. For example, two years ago, lawmakers and donors threatened to pull funding because students invited filmmaker Michael Moore, who directed "Fahrenheit 9/11," the anti-Bush administration documentary, to speak on campus.

The report noted other instances in the past 100 years of threats to academic freedom in Utah.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com