"It's not about whose turf are we on, but how we serve the students best," Buhler said.

In support of Kendell's recommendations, Buhler said the two schools are competing for enrollment, resources and funding. The commissioner's report states that SLTATC serves fewer than 2,000 students from a rented administration building in Salt Lake City, while SLCC has a student body of more than 50,000 spread over 14 locations in the Salt Lake Valley.

"It is a matter of pride," he said. "But the numbers just don't support it. We need to look at how we can spend the state's resources wisely."

Buhler said that considering the competition SLTATC has faced, "they've done a good job." The regents will continue to address the current situation in Tooele, looking at adding more programs and how to better serve the student population there.

A bill seeking consolidation of the two colleges is in the works and will be supported through the upcoming legislative session by Rep. Kory Holdaway, R-Taylorsville. The bill would also seek "safe-harbor" status for six of the remaining seven UCAT campuses, protecting their mission and barring them from any future consolidation or mergers. The future of the Dixie Applied Technology College is uncertain as negotiations continue regarding an affiliation between Dixie State College and the University of Utah.

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com