UVSC quietly ditching the C

OREM — What's in a name?

Apparently, a lot at Utah Valley State College, which is taking baby steps away from its current name.

UVSC has dropped the word "College" — or the last letter "C" — from its abbreviated name on several campus signs and athletic-program publications.

So has the school launched a campaign for it to be known in the community as Utah Valley State, Utah Valley or just UV?

Consider:

• The scoreboard at the school's new baseball stadium says "Utah Valley State."

• An electronic sign in the Sorensen Student Center that advertises activities around campus alternates "UVSC" with "UV."

• Items for sale in the school gift shop don't use the word "college."

Administrators insist the monikers without the "C" are just nicknames — like "Utah State" for Utah State University or "Weber State" for Weber State University — and want people to refer to the school by its full name on first reference.

"We use a variety of names in our signage, logos. . . . The UV is a common way to abbreviate the college name if space is an issue," said UVSC President William Sederburg in an e-mail to the Deseret Morning News.

"We do use Utah Valley State from time to time. What got the attention of the press was when we needed to replace College on one of our signs on 400 (West) we didn't replace it — just left Utah Valley State. The other part of the sign has UVSC."

Still, it appears the school chief is looking toward the day when "college" won't be part of its name.

"In my opinion, there is little doubt that UVSC will move to university status at some point in time," Sederburg said. "However, if that happens, the name will need to be approved by the Board of Regents. Right now, we use UVS as a shorter way to refer to us, although Utah Valley State College remains the official name."

The name would change, obviously, if the school was granted university status.

The school's next step likely hinges on the results of a study that will start in November.

A three-person team of education consultants has been asked to begin researching the feasibility of turning UVSC into a university.

A report on the issue already has been done by a consultant hired by UVSC.